No Time Like the Present
by CupOfAngst
Summary: He clung desperately to the hope that Rob was out there, keeping a low profile as he plotted his next act of vengeance, but there would be no rest for him until he found out for himself. He had to find him, or he would never forgive himself for as long as he lived. [Takes place after "The Future"]
1. Introduction

**Summary:** He clung desperately to the hope that Rob was out there, keeping a low profile as he plotted his next act of vengeance, but there would be no rest for him until he found out for himself. He had to find him, or he would never forgive himself for as long as he lived.  
**Rating:** K+ (mild peril)  
**Disclaimer:** "The Amazing World of Gumball" is the property of Cartoon Network and Ben Bocquelet. I make no profit from these writings. 

* * *

**Introduction**

"No! You don't understand what this means! You don't-"

Rob's words died in his throat as he suddenly felt the wind whipping against his back and the stomach-flipping sensation of his body falling. This wasn't right. He had just been standing in front of Gumball, Darwin, Banana Joe and his mother. His mind was thrown into a world of confusion, as the last thing he remembered was trying to prevent himself from being erased from existence. And now he was…

No.

Rocky platforms rushed past him in a blur as he continued to fall, and he quickly began flailing in a panic as realization set in. "No! _NO!" _

The boy attempted to rotate his body around but was unable to, as he suddenly felt his back make contact with something solid and made of metal. It knocked the wind out of him momentarily and he wasn't able to ascertain what it was he had hit before he was falling yet again. He hit something else seconds later, and this time his body rolled a few feet before coming to a gradual halt. He coughed a bit, feeling the sensation of grit on his teeth as he bit down, which prompted him to spit in disgust. "No," he repeated in a pained groan as he sat up and surveyed his surroundings. He managed to get to his feet despite the pain from the fall and staggered forward a few steps. "No, please…" His body began to tremble and he wrapped his arms around himself. His eye squeezed shut and he dropped to his knees, dust billowing up around him. "Darn you."

It would seem this was where he was destined to be. He imagined if the Void was a sentient being, it would probably belt out a cruel laugh right about now, as it finally had him in its clutches once again, and he couldn't see himself getting out of it this time. What would be the point, really? He knew the endgame. He was the _only _one who knew. Well…soon they would all know, too.

Rob fell back on his rear, wrapping his arms around his legs as he drew them close to his chest. His emotions raged within him, battling for dominance as he surveyed his surroundings in bitter silence. He knew feeling angry over his situation was pointless, but it bubbled to the surface briefly before soon transitioning to somber acceptance. This was never how he wanted his story to end, but he knew he couldn't escape it anymore.

"I'll be seeing you soon, Gumball," he murmured solemnly.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Okay…so I caved and watched "The Future" when it leaked and I have…many feelings. How to describe how I felt about the episode…hmm. Well…if any of you have watched Markiplier's playthrough of Until Dawn, then I'd have to say my reaction was basically Mark's reaction after he goofed and got Ashley killed. Yeah. That has literally been me during this whole writing process. I'm not happy right now. Nope. The idea for this story hit me like a ton of bricks and I wanted to get it out as quickly as possible, as I know the series finale is going to rip this story to shreds eventually. Heck, maybe not even the finale. I'm not sure if there's going to be a followup episode to "The Future" but at any rate… enjoy this story while you can. Hopefully I'll have the next chapter out fairly soon.


	2. I: Taking Responsibility

**Part I: **Taking Responsibility

To say he was concerned was an understatement.

It had almost been a week and still, he had seen no sign of him anywhere. It wasn't uncommon for him to go extended periods without seeing the cyclops, but given the events that had occurred with Banana Barbara, he had good reason to be worried. They had erased him from existence, after all. Even if Barbara had painted him back into existence, until he actually laid eyes on him again, he could no longer be convinced that his nemesis was walking this earth.

Convinced he'd never be able to fall asleep, Gumball shifted to his side, his gaze settling on the fish bowl where his brother currently resided. He hesitated to wake him, but he knew he wouldn't be able to let it rest.

"Hey…Darwin?"

The fish's eyes popped open and he stuck his head out of the bowl, his face fixed with a frown. "What's up? Not tired?"

Gumball's gaze dropped to the floor, his ears flattening. "Um…well, I was just wondering…When you've been hanging out with Carrie…did you at any time see Rob anywhere?"

His brother's expression made the pit in his stomach deepen, and he knew there was no denying that something was definitely wrong.

"No," Darwin replied softly, appearing equally troubled. "You mean you haven't seen him since…that?"

Gumball looked away, pulling his knees to his chest. "No." He could feel his heart thumping against his chest, and breathing seemed a lot more difficult now. "Darwin…what if he's…?"

"He's gotta be out there somewhere," Darwin cut him off, a bit more sharply than he intended. "Banana Barbara painted him back into existence, right? He's…he's probably just scheming! You know, trying to come up with some other plan to destroy you or whatever." Gumball could tell he was in denial, but he couldn't bring himself to call him on it.

"Maybe…But still…I think we should go to Banana Joe's after school tomorrow and talk to his mom. If she still has that painting, I want to look at it again."

"What good's that going to do?"

Gumball whipped his head around to glare at the goldfish, who flinched slightly. "I don't know, Darwin, but something isn't right and I need to try to figure it out! Maybe there's something in that painting that'll give me a clue!"

Darwin held up his hands in a defensive manner. "Okay, man, calm down."

The cat sighed, placing a paw against his forehead. "It's just that…he seemed really freaked out about something. I think he was trying to tell us something, and we…" He sighed again, his fingers grasping at clumps of fur in frustration.

Darwin's tone was softer now. "Look, we'll get to the bottom of this. Just try to get some sleep."

Gumball didn't respond this time, allowing his body to sink back into the sunken mattress and rewrapping himself in the tousled sheets. He lay facing the wall, opening and closing his eyes repeatedly as he tried to will himself into slumber, but Rob's face would not leave his mind. It was a haunting image, Rob's face contorted with fear and desperation as he cried out for them to stop, only for said cries to be silenced as he was wiped from existence. He clung desperately to the hope that Rob was out there, keeping a low profile as he plotted his next act of vengeance, but there would be no rest for him until he found out for himself. He had to find him, or he would never forgive himself for as long as he lived.

0oooooo0

"So…you guys just wanna talk to my mom?"

The disappointment in the little banana's tone was clear, and both Gumball and Darwin couldn't help but feel guilty as they revealed their true intentions. Banana Joe had been so excited when they had approached him after getting on the bus and asked to come to his house, clearly thinking they had wanted to hang out.

"I'm sorry, man, it's just…I kind of wanted to ask your mom if she still had that painting of Rob."

Banana Joe raised a brow. "Oh…uhh…okay?"

The cat sighed, shoulders slumping. "Look, it's just really important, okay? I just really need to ask her about it."

The banana shrugged his shoulders, his disappointment still mildly noticeable. "Okay…if you want."

Both Darwin and Gumball sat down in the seat adjacent to Banana Joe's, glancing at one another with apprehensive gazes. They sat in silence for most of the bus ride, oblivious to the loud chatter of their classmates all around them. A few paper wads bounced off their heads, which they barely acknowledged. Any other time, they would have happily returned fire at whoever had launched them their way, but they couldn't bring themselves to engage in their usual shenanigans.

"You know…what does it say about us?"

Darwin jumped slightly when he heard his brother finally speak up after such a long silence. He turned to him with a quirked brow, as he was clueless to what the context of his words was. "What does what say?"

"Well, I mean…we just erased him, Darwin. 'Oh hey, this guy's being a bother! Let's just erase him from existence! It's not like he matters anyway! No one cares 'cause he's a nobody!' You get what I mean? What does it say about someone who does that? Okay, yeah, he's my nemesis, but…I don't exactly feel like the good guy here."

"But that's not how it was, man! I wasn't thinking that way, and I know you weren't thinking it, either! We didn't think at all, Gumball. It was a split-second decision that we didn't have time to think about." Darwin placed a hand on his brother's shoulder as he watched him hide his face in his hands, heaving a frustrated sigh. Another paper wad bounced off the cat's head and this time he grabbed it with an aggravated growl before rotating around to peer over the top of the seat. His eyes immediately locked on Tobias when he caught him snickering.

"I'M NOT IN THE MOOD, YOU JERK!" he shouted as he flung the paper wad back at the preteen, hitting him square in the face.

"Okay, geez…" the boy mumbled dejectedly.

His outburst forced a brief silence within the bus and earned a few concerned glances from his classmates. He caught Darwin staring at him out of the corner of his eye and he uttered a quick apology under his breath as he settled back into his seat. "This whole thing's got me rattled, okay?" he reasoned, to which Darwin nodded in understanding.

The bus finally came to a stop in front of their classmate's house. His usual cheerfulness seemingly restored, Banana Joe bounced to the front of the bus and quickly gestured for Gumball and Darwin to follow. "C'mon, guys!" he called to them as he hopped down the steps. Darwin and Gumball followed after him in silence, both boys very much aware of the other's anxiety. Banana Joe was as upbeat as ever, holding the door open for his classmates and gesturing for them to enter. Even if they weren't necessarily there to hang out, he was always thrilled to have company.

"Mom, Dad, I'm home! Gumball and Darwin are here!"

Banana Bob was situated on the sofa. He briefly glanced away from his newspaper to offer the boys a quick greeting, while Banana Barbara exited the kitchen as soon as she heard her son announce their arrival. She happily extended her arms as Joe skipped over to her to give her a hug. "Hey, Mom, Gumball and Darwin wanted to talk to you," he said as he pulled out of his mother's arms and gestured to his friends. Gumball took the cue and stepped forward.

"Hey, Barbara, I um…wanted to ask you about that painting? You know…the one of Rob I asked you to paint after we erased him?" he asked nervously.

Barbara smiled and nodded in understanding.

"You wouldn't happen to have it with you, would you? It's kind of important."

"Of course!" she said happily and waved for the boys to follow.

They both followed the maddeningly upbeat banana out to the garage, which she had made her own personal art gallery. Both their jaws hit the floor when she flipped the light switch to reveal the massive collection of paintings that lined the brick wall. It was still an unsettling feeling to see themselves in her paintings, past events that they had experienced right there before their eyes, playing out in bold, colorful brushstrokes.

"This still weirds me out, man," Gumball whispered to his brother, who nodded in agreement. They turned back to Barbara, who they saw was hobbling over to the painting of their interest. She plucked it off the wall and brought it over to them, still all smiles. Gumball reached out with shaky hands to take the painting, his brows furrowing in concentration as his eyes scanned every inch of the canvas for an explanation. When he found nothing of interest, he slowly glanced back up at her. "B-Barbara…the reason we wanted to see this…umm…we haven't seen Rob anywhere since you painted this. Shouldn't he have come back by now? I mean…you paint the future, right? Well…it's the future now, so shouldn't he be here?"

The smile never left the banana's face as she happily replied, "There is no future." The way she spoke those words made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end.

The two boys both shot each other concerned glances.

"Um…I'm sorry?"

A soft gasp came from Gumball's right side, and he quickly turned to his brother, noticing his attention was on something else entirely.

"Gumball…"

Darwin took a few tentative steps towards the vast collection of paintings, his gaze sternly fixed on one in particular. He slowly glanced back at his brother, who made his way over to see what had grabbed the fish's attention. "What…What is this?" Darwin whispered as he looked back at the painting. In this particular piece, they could see themselves, along with the rest of their family, all huddled together in some sort of strange location that they had never seen before, clearly terrified of their situation. It didn't look like anything of this world. "Gumball, what _is _this?"

"I…I don't know, man," the feline whimpered. He threw a nervous glance at Banana Barbara, the urge to question her about the painting strong, but he was quick to extinguish it. It was unclear if she even had the answer herself, but he didn't want to know it if she did. Sometimes ignorance was bliss. "I…We need to go," he said hastily as he placed the painting of Rob back on the wall and turned to grab his now heavily confused brother by the arm.

Banana Barbara simply waved happily as they scurried out of the garage and back into the house. She then glanced at her little easel where a blank canvas rested, ready to receive the strokes of her brush. She crossed her arms and lightly tapped her face in thought. She grinned as she was hit with a bolt of inspiration, and she quickly went to grab her paintbrush.

0oooooo0

Gumball dragged his brother out of the garage and rushed for the front door, much to Banana Joe's confusion. "Uh…bye, guys?" he said to their retreating backs as he slowly waved.

"Gumball, wait, what are you-" Darwin nearly stumbled and fell as his brother continued yanking him along, dashing out the front door and practically throwing themselves off the porch. It wasn't until they rounded the corner at the end of the street before he finally stopped to release him. "Dude, what the heck?!"

Gumball placed his hands on his knees as he hunched over to catch his breath. "I'm sorry…I'm just…I'm just freaking the freak out a little right now, Darwin."

"What's going on? What was up with that painting? And where's Rob?!"

"I…I don't know," the cat replied meekly, feeling tears prick his eyes. "I thought he…" He grit his teeth in an attempt to keep himself from breaking down.

"What…What does this mean, Gumball? What's she talking about? Does Rob not exist anymore?!"

"I don't _know,_ Darwin! I…" The cat glanced down at his feet, suddenly feeling light-headed. His breathing became shallow as he clutched his head in a panic. "What've I done? How could I just…? How could _we…? _He's _gone!_ We erased him! We might as well be murderers, Darwin!_"_

Darwin recoiled slightly. "Dude, he was trying to hurt us. We just…reacted. I told you, we didn't really have time to think about it," he reasoned gently, though his own guilt was very easily detectable in the way his words shook as he spoke. "He can't be gone. He has to be around _somewhere."_

Gumball only shook his head in response as he began walking again, no destination in mind. He tightly folded his arms over his chest, staring at his feet as he walked.

"Was there anything in Rob's painting that you could see?" Darwin asked as he quickly skipped after his brother.

"No, there was nothing. It was like…_static_. It was just nothingness." The two boys shot each other unnerved glances as they continued on in uneasy silence. Every now and again, Gumball would scan the surroundings for any signs of the cyclops, still holding out hope that he might be lurking out there somewhere. "Man…I'd give anything to walk into one of Rob's traps right about now," he said longingly. "He could jump out and strangle me for all I care, just as long as I know he still exists."

"What does this mean for _us_, Gumball? That place in Barbara's painting…is that where Rob is? Are we going to end up there, too?"

Gumball lifted a paw to his head. "I-I don't know, Darwin. I don't even know what that place was! I don't-AH!" Gumball felt his foot catch on something, causing him to hit the sidewalk rather hard. "What the what did I just trip on?" Pushing himself up, Gumball glanced over his shoulder, noticing Darwin looking down at the ground with a perplexed gaze. The feline scrambled to his feet and looked down to see for himself, equally confused when he saw what looked to be a perfectly straight ridge running along the ground. "What the…?" The boy crouched down to get a better look, running a finger along the ridge. "It almost looks like a crease."

The two boys walked on either side of the crease, following it until they felt themselves bump into something solid. They both gaped, completely at a loss as they took a step back.

"I don't…What is this?!" Gumball shouted. He felt something brush past his cheek, disappearing into the crease before he could even determine what it had been. The two boys glanced at their feet as they noticed fallen leaves and other small light-weight debris slipping through the crease. As they both stepped closer, they could feel the slight pull from the other side of whatever it was they were looking at. Swallowing nervously, Gumball slipped a shaky paw through the crease, looking back at his brother with wide, terrified eyes. "Should I?"

Darwin nodded slowly, taking a cautious step back.

Inhaling deeply, Gumball began pulling. In an instant, both boys were overcome with the rush of powerful winds as what looked to be some sort of strange dimension was revealed to them. As the winds whipped past them, they both peered inside the opening, their hearts simultaneously dropping into their stomachs. Overwhelmed, they only managed to look a few moments before quickly shutting the opening and jumping away in shock, both of them falling back on their rears.

"What…What was that?!" Darwin shouted as he got to his feet again.

After a few silent moments of processing what he had just seen, Gumball clenched his fists in determination. "I think we might have just figured out where Rob is." After dusting off his pants, he turned on his heel and started walking away with quick, determined strides.

"Wait, where're you going?" Darwin inquired as he trotted after him.

"To go buy rope."

The fish raised a brow in confusion. "Rope? Why would you need…?" Darwin stopped dead in his tracks, his eyes widening in realization. "Woah, wait! Gumball, hold on!"

0oooooo0

After swirling her paintbrush around in the cup of murky water, Banana Barbara selected her next color and brought it to the canvas as she hummed a tune. She made a few final touches to Gumball's likeness before switching over to Rob's, giving a light nod of approval once finished. She then dabbed her brush in the messy dollop of blue paint and began her work on the third figure in the image, her gaze hardening in concentration. Once she felt she had captured everything her inspiration had presented to her, she took a few steps back to get a better look. She sighed contently before going to pluck the now completed piece from the easel.

Barbara managed to find an empty space on the wall and quickly hung the canvas there, stepping back to once again give it another once over. She looked over every detail of the piece: the grayscale tones of the static background, the rocky platforms and corrupted objects that floated within it, and of course the three subjects of the painting, who all sat huddled together on one of those stone platforms.

The banana smiled, happy with her work.

0oooooo0

There had been many attempts from Darwin to talk him out of his self-appointed task, but he had finally tuned him out after a while. He knew what he was doing could very well be suicide, but living with the guilt of what he had done was far worse by comparison.

"You know this is crazy, right?"

Gumball had absolutely no reason to disagree with such a question.

"Yep."

"Are you sure this is going to work?"

"Nope."

Gumball dropped the rope onto the ground with an exhausted grunt, doubtful that it would be long enough to get very far within the strange dimension, which had been his original plan. Now he figured the best course of action was to go in alone and have Darwin toss him the rope to help pull him in once he returned. He knew there was no way he could guarantee a safe return, of course. He had to accept the possibility that he might not make it back, a potential price for taking responsibility for his actions.

"How do we even know Rob is in there?"

Gumball sighed. "We _don't_, Darwin, but how else are we gonna know? If he's there…we can't just walk away. It's our fault he's in there. We have to try."

The fish wrung his hands nervously. "Dude…I'm scared. I don't know if I want to go in there. What if…What if we can't get back?"

Gumball looked at the boy seriously, his expression quickly becoming soft with understanding. "I'm not going to ask you to go in, bro. Actually, I had planned on going in alone, anyway." He nudged the pile of rope with his foot. "I'll go in and look for Rob…and when I come back, just toss me the rope and help pull me in, okay?" Seeing his brother's apprehension, he quickly added, "I have to do this, Darwin. I'll never be able to live with myself if I don't."

His brother only nodded, his bottom lip trembling a bit.

"Come on…help me open this."

The two boys took their places on either side of the crease, both of them mentally counting to three before prying it open, feeling the winds whipping past their cheeks once again. "Are you sure about this?!" Darwin shouted to his brother as he noticed him moving towards the edge, preparing to jump.

Gumball's terrified eyes scanned the seemingly never-ending world of static before slowly looking back at his brother with a nervous smile. "No. Wish me luck, man," he said before stepping off the edge and leaving their world.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Part 2 doesn't have much further to go, but it's likely I won't actually post the next chapter until I've actually started working on Part 3, a chapter I'm somewhat nervous about as there is quite a lot that's going to go down in that chapter and I'm going to be agonizing over every detail. I would have had this chapter out a little sooner, but there was a lot of last minute details I kept going back and adding.


	3. II: Catharsis

**Part II: **Catharsis

Navigating the strange dimension was a struggle, as each platform and object floating about had its own gravitational pull, some stronger than others. Gumball hopped from platform to platform, sometimes with ease and other times not so much. He called Rob's name until his throat was nearly raw, but his calls always went unanswered. "Darn it, Rob…I _know _you're here. You have to be," he whispered to himself, though his words held little confidence. He clung to every sliver of hope he had, but the fear that this was all for nothing and that he had sent himself on a wild goose chase remained a prominent thought in his mind. The fact that this place seemed to go on forever didn't help matters, either.

It was quite unsettling how familiar this place felt. There was a wide array of objects floating about in the strange, static abyss, most of which he paid no mind to. However, as he ventured further into the bleak dimension, his eyes caught sight of what looked to be a small house anchored to a grassy platform hovering in the distance. Assuming the little house was completely furnished, he couldn't imagine why Rob _wouldn't _take refuge there if he had the opportunity to. It was the closest thing to a creature comfort one could find in such a dismal place.

The feline wasted no time, hopping across platforms and random objects until he landed in front of his destination, stumbling forward a few steps before catching himself on the mailbox. He took a moment to catch his breath before slowly making his way up the front steps of the house, hearing the wood planks creak beneath his feet. Stepping onto the porch, he immediately made his way over to the large living room window to peer inside but quickly found his view to be obstructed by the curtains. He then made his way to the far right side of the porch where the front door was situated. He saw that the entrance had a retractable screen door in front of the main door, which just happened to be open. Curious, Gumball pressed his paws and nose against the screen as he peered inside the darkened living room. "Hello?" he called, not surprised when he was met with silence. With a shaky paw, he grabbed the handle of the door and pulled it open, wincing as it creaked loudly. Stepping inside, he held his paw against the door as he allowed it to gently close behind him with a soft _clack._

Once inside, he could see that the layout of the house was almost identical to his own, with the kitchen located straight ahead at the back of the house and a small set of stairs right in front of the door. The house was so deathly silent that the boy felt doubtful that anyone was still hanging around, but he knew he'd have to check the upstairs first before moving on. His eyes scanned every inch of the room, feeling unsettled when he noticed things like a half-empty glass of tea sitting on the end table by the couch, or a few crinkled magazines on the coffee table. There had once been life in this house, and it was clear it had been very abruptly interrupted.

It felt wrong to be here. This was someone else's home, after all, and he had just walked in, uninvited. Nothing was out of the ordinary about this house, which was what made it so chilling to him. The kitchen was even more unsettling, as it appeared to be suspended in time. He noticed a soiled plate still situated on the round dining table, along with a half-empty glass of orange juice. Weekly circulars were scattered across the table, a small calculator placed on top of a gutted coupon insert. It was all so surreal; he kept expecting someone to just walk back into the kitchen at any moment to finish whatever they had been doing, though not before reprimanding him for breaking and entering.

The cat finally made his way back into the living area and started making his way up the stairs, one slow, nervous step at a time. Making a right turn at the top of the stairs, he found himself standing in the doorway of what he guessed was the master bedroom, though it was quite small. He hesitated before stepping inside, as now the feeling of invasiveness was stronger than ever. He walked around the bed, which he saw was unmade and had been the final resting place for a pair of discarded pajamas. He briefly scanned the nightstand, finding a half-empty glass of water and a few pieces of jewelry laying on top of a heavily-used novel. On the other side of that novel, he noticed a small, narrow notepad, with a few words scribbled in messy black ink. Unable to ignore his curiosity, he picked it up and held it close to his face to read.

_Weekend To-do list:_

_Cancel the cable_

_Schedule a plumber to come and fix leak_

_Return blouse to the store_

_Pick up Rob's birthday present _

Gumball froze, his grip on the notepad tightening. He reread the last line over and over again until he thought he might go cross-eyed.

Rob? _The _Rob? _His _Rob?

He nearly fumbled the notepad as he went to place it back on the nightstand. He backed up a few steps before turning on his heel and scurrying out of the room, his search suddenly validated with the discovery of this new clue.

As he left the bedroom, he knew he'd have to search every room of the little house before he could continue on, and there wasn't much left of the house to search. A quick peak into the bathroom as he walked towards the opposite end of the hall revealed nothing. Only one room remained now, which he assumed would be Rob's bedroom if this really was his house.

He made his way to the other end of the hall and abruptly stopped before the last remaining door, his paw lifting to hover near the doorknob. Seeing that the door was slightly ajar, he instead placed his hand against it to push it open as he held his breath.

A feeling of relief like he had never felt before came over him when he saw the subject of his search right in front of him, lying lifelessly on the bed with his arms wrapped around himself. Gumball's face split into a huge smile and he felt the sudden urge to shout the other boy's name with glee, but that enthusiasm died almost as soon as it had come when he took in the sight of him. Seeing how still the boy was, Gumball felt his heart flutter with the fear that he might not be alive. He never even stopped to think if someone needed to eat in a place like this, and if they did, had there been enough nonperishable food left over in the house for the teen to live off of?

Swallowing nervously, Gumball quietly eased his way into the bedroom, his legs trembling with each step. He managed to approach the bed without making a sound, his breath hitching as he leaned over to get a look at the boy's face. He saw that his eye was closed, and he couldn't really tell if he was breathing or not. His heart sank.

Reaching out a shaky hand, Gumball gently placed it to the teen's shoulder to lightly shake him. "Rob?" he called to him softly, his voice a soft, anguished crack as he tried to mentally prepare himself for the tragic possibility that the boy was dead.

His fears immediately subsided and he let out the smallest breath of relief as he saw the boy's eye slowly flutter open. He tried to force a smile as he noticed him glance up at him, but it quickly faded as the teen's single eye darkened upon seeing his face.

"What are you doing here?" he growled hoarsely as he slowly rose into a sitting position. Gumball noticed him clutching something in his hand, but it was a brief observation, one which was immediately forgotten as the teen glared at him threateningly.

The feline stumbled back a few steps, his hands raised defensively as his entire body shook. Though he was relived to see Rob alive and in the flesh, he knew he had earned the teen's ire. He had known going in that Rob wouldn't be pleased to see him, and now he found himself struggling to make a case for his presence. He knew an apology would be the first order of business, but there was little reason to believe Rob would accept it.

"I…I came to find you. I was worried when I didn't see you after…well, you know," Gumball answered calmly.

The cyclops laughed sardonically. "What did you expect? You erased me from existence, Gumball. Is that not what you wanted?" he hissed disdainfully, his hands curling into tight fists.

Gumball took a chance and approached him again. "N-No…I…Look, Rob, I didn't-" The cat took a step back again as he noticed Rob abruptly swing his legs over the side of the bed, his glare deepening as he rose to his feet.

"You…You _erased _me!" he shouted as he came to tower over the blue feline. "You erased me like I didn't even _MATTER_!" Rob moved before he could even blink, shoving the smaller boy roughly with both hands.

Gumball stumbled a few steps but managed to keep himself from falling over onto his rear. He straightened up again as he fixed his face with a glare, his guilt momentarily sidelined by his own anger. He knew what he did was wrong, but Rob was hardly innocent. Apparently, he needed to be reminded of that fact.

"You tried to _KILL US!" _the cat shouted back as he returned the shove with equal force, knocking the slender teen off his feet and causing him to fall back onto the bed with a grunt. "You kidnapped Joe's mom and you attacked us!" he added with more assertion. "Not that I should expect anything less from my sworn enemy, 'cause I know you gotta do your villain thing and all, but still…not cool, man." The cat crossed his arms, crinkling his nose angrily as he waited for Rob's response.

The cyclops' face twisted into a scowl as he tried to prepare a proper retort, but Gumball was quite surprised to see his shoulders slump in defeat within seconds and his single eye fall to the floor. "Yeah," was all he said as he pulled his legs back onto the bed and turned away, looking almost…guilty? This left the cat feeling incredibly awkward.

"Look…" Gumball cautiously approached the boy again, who was now staring ahead at the wall as though it was the most interesting thing in the room. "Even though you tried to hurt us, we shouldn't have done what we did. I just…_reacted, _okay? We panicked!"

Rob pulled his legs to his chest and drew his arms upward to fold them over his knees, turning his head to rest his cheek against them. "It doesn't matter. This is where I'm meant to be," he murmured.

Gumball blinked momentarily, leaning in to rest his hands on the edge of the bed. "You don't get it. I had Banana Barbara paint you back into existence, but…you never showed up. I found this place by accident and I-" His words were cut off by another hollow laugh.

"I don't get it? No…No, Gumball…_you _don't get it. None of you understand what any of this means. Not that it matters. There's nothing you can do to stop it." The cyclops stiffened slightly, his singular brow furrowing heavily. "Wait…" He looked up at Gumball again. "How long have I been gone?"

"Um…it's been about six days."

Rob glanced down again as he digested that piece of information. "That's all it's been? Only six days?" he questioned softly. "It feels like it's been weeks."

The cat was ready to fire off another question, but his eyes drifted away from the cyclops as he noticed the item he had been clutching earlier laying on the bed by his feet, momentarily forgotten. He slid his hand across the navy blue comforter to retrieve it, pulling it back quickly as he noticed Rob appeared ready to protest. With a look of defeat, the teen simply buried his face in his arms, saying nothing.

Frowning, Gumball looked down at the item in his hands, having already distinguished that it was a photograph. He saw a young boy, about twelve or so, and a woman he presumed to be his mother happily sitting on the front steps of the house they were currently standing in. The child was all smiles as he sat there nestled against his mother's chest, beaming brightly as she had her arms wrapped tightly around his neck and her chin resting atop his head, her single purple eye focused down on him instead of on the camera.

Gumball stared at the photo for the longest time, feeling his stomach twisting into a painful knot. "Is…Is this…_you_?"

Rob slowly lifted his head, his eye noticeably glassy. "Yes."

"And your…your mom," Gumball uttered the last word in a whisper, his shoulders feeling unbearably heavy. "Wait…y-you said you didn't have a mom."

Rob looked elsewhere. "As far as I knew, I _didn't._ I couldn't remember anything from my past, including my family. I had no recollection of my mother when I first left this place. My memories are fragmented and distorted, but sometimes I'd dream about things from my old life…including her." The boy looked up, surveying the small bedroom and everything that resided in it. "When I came back here, I got a better sense of who I really was…who I used to be."

Gumball followed the boy's gaze, turning counter-clockwise as he took in every knick-knack and personal item that decorated the tiny space. Clothes, photos, floating shelves with little trinkets, books, small figurines of characters from popular TV shows, and all sorts of various things that represented Rob and his life occupied this space. He took a slow step towards the little desk that sat off to the right of the bed, noticing an open box of candy and a soda cup that had both come from the movie theater. Beside these items sat an open sketchpad and a few markers laying across the scribbled pages. They were such simple items, and yet they were all so overwhelming to see. For the first time since he had found the young cyclops in his basement, he was only now able to see him for what he really was: a child. He was just a boy who had lived a normal life and had a loving family just like him, and in the blink of an eye, for reasons he couldn't comprehend, it had all been ripped away.

And then it was like a switch had been flipped.

"W-Wait…" Gumball furrowed his brows as he held the photo closer to his face for a second look. "Dude, I…I remember you." He looked up sharply to meet the other boy's gaze with eyes the size of saucers, momentarily forgetting to breathe. "You went to school with us. You were the one we…um...pushed into a manhole," he finished with a wince, not at all surprised by the displeased look that suddenly crossed the older boy's face. "The party at Tobias' house…you were there!" He looked between the boy in the picture and the present version sitting before him, completely horrified. His world was spinning now. "How…?"

Rob narrowed his eye. "I've been here before, Gumball. I was a mistake, as I've told you. I was thrown away like trash, forgotten by the rest of the world because I was deemed not important enough to be a part of it. But I had a chance to escape when _you_ came. You were here looking for Molly. You, Darwin and Mr. Small. I called out to you as loud as I could, but you never acknowledged me." Seeing the cat preparing a defense, Rob quickly shot up a hand to silence him. "_Don't," _he growled. "I had one chance to escape…so I clung to the back of Mr. Small's van for dear life as you fled." Rob gestured to himself with a resentful grimace. "So this is what's left of me. My body was torn apart and left in this hideous state as a cost for escaping. You might not remember, but I _do. _I will _never _forget it."

Gumball lowered his head slowly, suddenly feeling incredibly small. As he replayed the details of Rob's story in his mind, he suddenly felt overwhelmed as yet another light went off in his head. "No…No, I _do _remember now." He looked up sharply, turning his gaze towards the window just above the teen's bed. "I knew this place seemed familiar!" He glanced back down at the boy situated on the bed, his frown deepening. "But…I don't remember seeing you," he admitted guiltily, prompting Rob to avoid his gaze again. The feline slowly approached him, his jaw trembling. "Look…Rob, I-"

"Give it back," Rob cut him off, holding out his hand without looking at the boy. There was a noticeable crack in his voice as he demanded the photo back.

Gumball didn't argue, slowly handing it over with an apologetic expression. As the other boy stared down at the photo longingly, Gumball cautiously hoisted himself up onto the bed, fully expecting to be violently kicked off by the cyclops, but he never tore his eye away from the photo in his trembling hands. "Listen, I…I'm sorry…for everything. I know you hate me, and I'm the last person you want to see right now, but…I didn't…" The cat sighed in frustration, completely at a loss for words. There would never be anything he could say to the boy to make it right. "I know this means nothing for you to hear, but…I wouldn't have ignored you on purpose!"

Rob grit his teeth, knowing what the feline said was the truth. He wanted so desperately to hold on to his anger, as it had always been the one thing that had kept him going, but where had it even gotten him? What had he accomplished?

Silently staring down at the photo, a sickening feeling grew and intensified in the pit of his stomach. "I don't…" He exhaled slowly as he blinked away tears, desperately holding on to his composure. "I can't remember what her voice sounds like anymore."

Gumball winced, those words cutting through him like a knife. The urge to comfort the other boy was almost unbearable now.

Rob slowly turned to him. "What would she think of me if she saw me now?" He let the question hang in the air before finally glancing down shamefully. "Look at what I've become…everything I've done. She'd never look at me again. She'd probably disown me."

Gumball quickly shook his head, scooting closer to the teen. "N-No, man…she wouldn't. You don't really believe that. I mean…look for yourself," he stated confidently as he indicated to the photo in the cyclops' hands. "She loved you!" He took his chances and placed a hand against Rob's shoulder, praying he wouldn't push him away. "Nothing would ever change that." There was a sudden urge to inquire about his mother's whereabouts, but he ultimately decided against it, as it was obvious he didn't know and it would only bring him more pain if he asked.

He felt the boy's shoulder quiver beneath his hand and he instinctively squeezed it to reassure him. He watched, pained and guilt-ridden as the other boy clutched the photo to his chest as heavy sobs wracked his body. _To heck with it. _He threw caution to the wind and moved to embrace the boy, resting his cheek against his head. "I know I can't make it right," he whispered to him. He felt both relieved and heartbroken as the other boy turned towards him, pushing further into his embrace as he cried. "And saying 'I'm sorry' will never be enough, even though I am. More than anything," he added with conviction as he fought the urge to cry with him. He said nothing more after that, letting Rob cry to his heart's content. He felt more determined than ever to get him out of here. What this would mean for their relationship afterward remained to be seen, but he hardly cared at the moment. Rob could go on hating him forever for all he cared. He couldn't say he didn't deserve it. Right now he just wanted him to be safe.

Dark shadows moved across the walls, which prompted Gumball to glance over the top of Rob's head at the adjacent window. Platforms and various, long-forgotten objects floated along aimlessly, casting dark shadows over the little house as they drifted by. Gumball couldn't help but shudder, unable to fathom being trapped in such a miserable place, forgotten and alone. How could anyone keep their sanity here?

Gradually, Rob's sobs quieted to soft whimpers and sniffles, and he eventually pulled away from the cat's embrace, momentarily turning his head away in slight embarrassment. "S-Sorry," he murmured.

"Don't be."

Long gone was the anger, and in its place came the self-loathing. "No…I _should _be_._" Rob exhaled deeply, wiping his eye with the heel of his palm. Gumball opened his mouth but quickly shut it again, giving him a moment to collect his thoughts, as it was clear to see he had quite a lot to unload. "Why should _you _get to hog all the guilt?" he quipped lightly as his mouth lifted into the tiniest of smirks. "What I did…it can't compare. It can't compare because my actions were _deliberate. _I tried to hurt you, and I tried to…" his words stalled on his tongue as he remembered Gumball had no recollection of the events with the universal remote. "I lost sight of everything. I thought making you suffer would amend for the suffering _I _had endured, but I wasn't me anymore."

Rob narrowed his eye as he lifted his arms to observe himself. "My mind became as broken as my body…and I have only myself to blame." The boy shuddered, his hands tightening into fists. "I belong here."

A small hand gripped his arm tightly and he nearly jumped.

"No, you don't," Gumball countered firmly. "No one deserves this."

Rob scoffed, pulling his arm from his grip. "You shouldn't have come here. It wouldn't have mattered, anyway."

"UGH! Stop saying everything doesn't matter! Of course it matters!" the cat snapped. He sighed for what had to be the umpteenth time, his hand itching to reach out to the teen again. "Why the guilt all of a sudden?" he asked seriously, noticing the other boy's jaw visibly clench.

Rob turned away from the cat to gaze out the window. "Even though it feels like it's been so much longer, six days is still a long time to be alone with your thoughts. All you can do is think in a place like this, and after everything that's happened between us…well…there's a lot to think about, you know. I had plenty of time to reevaluate myself and the choices I made that led me here."

"Do you…feel better after having thought it all through?" the feline asked hopefully.

The cyclops snorted bitterly. "Far from it. I feel worse than ever."

Noticing the crestfallen look on the cat's face, Rob sighed, deciding to momentarily change the subject, as there was something he had wanted to confront the younger boy about since he had first made the shocking discovery.

"You said you had Barbara paint me back into existence."

"Yeah?"

Gumball frowned as the taller boy shot him a glare. He watched curiously as he shifted himself, leaning to the side to lift his rear off the bed.

"So you wanna explain _this?" _the teen snapped as he revealed the little squiggly pink tail protruding from his shorts.

Gumball immediately slapped a paw over his mouth as he fought back a fit of giggles. "Oh man," he snorted. "I forgot all about that!" Seeing the other boy's glare harden, Gumball quickly lifted his hands in a placating manner. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" he laughed. "I know I shouldn't have, but I just couldn't resist!" Unable to control himself, he reached out to grab the end of the tail between his fingers, pulling it until it uncoiled and then letting it go to retract back to its original shape.

"Stop!" Rob growled as he swatted the boy's hand away, who only laughed harder.

Wiping away a tear, the cat smiled apologetically. "Look, I promise I'll have Barbara fix it when we get back!" Gumball slowly scooted off the bed. "C'mon…let's get you out of here," he said as he started making his way for the door. He paused in the doorway when he saw that Rob still remained situated on the bed, showing no indication that he was prepared to leave. "Uhh…this is the part where you're supposed to start following me."

Still, the teen made no effort to move.

"Dude, come on! What're you waiting for?"

Rob slowly shook his head, his attention elsewhere. "You still don't get it. I can't leave. This is where I'm meant to be," he repeated.

The warmth immediately left the feline's eyes as he swiftly moved back into the room, his gaze confrontational. "Dude, I came here to get you out, and I'm not leaving without you! I'm not making the same mistake twice!" he said with unwavering determination.

There was an uncomfortable pause before Rob finally moved, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed and placing his feet on the floor. Gumball took a step back, partially turning towards the door, as he assumed Rob was going to follow him this time, but his expression remained somber. "It's all a lie," the older boy finally said after a painfully long silence.

Gumball's ears flattened. "What…?"

The teen grimaced, as though in pain. "None of this is real."

* * *

**Author's Note:** Okay, so...I made a bit of a change here. This chapter originally wasn't supposed to end here. It was originally going to be much longer, but after the chapter surpassed 7,000 words, I started considering splitting it in half, because I'm not a big fan of posting super long chapters, as it gets pretty overwhelming for me when it comes time to start proofreading and making the final tweaks. The longer the chapter, the harder it gets for me to spot things.

And I apologize that it's taken more than 2 weeks to get this next update out. I know it doesn't seem like such a long time, but i had honestly hoped to get it out sooner than this, but I just was never satisfied with the chapter and I just kept adding and adding to it, which is another reason I felt compelled to split it in half. And I'm afraid the emotional rollercoaster doesn't end here so I guess it's probably better to end the chapter here and give everyone's heart a break XD


	4. III: Thanks for Remembering

**Part III: **Thanks for Remembering

A heavy silence followed Rob's words, which Gumball wasn't entirely sure he had heard correctly. He felt inclined to ask for him to repeat what he had said, but he struggled to find his voice. He watched as the teen slowly rose from the bed and shuffled his way towards the little desk situated against the right bedroom wall. He stood before it in pained silence, his hands reaching out to trace the various items scattered across its surface with his fingers. Some things he even picked up and held in his palm. "It's all fake. None of it's real."

Gumball appeared impatient, taking a step towards the teen. "What're you talking about?_ Context!_"

Rob let his hands drop to his side. "Our world, Gumball…we're just…_characters. _We're just forms of amusement for an audience."

"What the _WHAT _are you on about?!" the cat shouted this time.

"It's all just a show, Gumball! This isn't real! _We _aren't real!" Rob shouted back, turning to face him this time. His hands curled into fists, his breathing becoming more and more uneven.

"That's…That's crazy," Gumball responded, his words tumbling out with nervous laughter. "You're just messing with me."

"Wake. Up," Rob growled. "You think I would lie about something like this?"

"H-How do you even know any of this?"

Rob crossed his arms as he turned away sharply. "That's…another story entirely." He sighed. "What I can tell you is that our world is on borrowed time. Soon…it'll all be over. Our world and everyone in it will cease to exist." Rob pointed to the window. "Take a good, long look at this place, Gumball…because soon this will be your new reality."

The cat's jaw trembled as he gaped at the teen. "You're…You're serious. I mean…you're really serious about this." Gumball stiffened suddenly, remembering Banana Barbara's words: _"There is no future."_

He could hear his heart pounding in his ears as he remembered the painting, and he slowly turned his gaze towards the window again, realizing the similarities between the details of her painting and the world he was currently standing in. "The painting…" Gumball whipped his head back around to face the teen, whose face harbored a knowing look. "Barbara's painting…we were…it was…"

"I know," Rob interjected in a low tone.

"You saw it?"

"Of course. Why do you think I went after her?"

Gumball tried to swallow but his throat had completely dried. "When…does it end? How long do we have?_"_

Rob didn't answer the boy this time, though he didn't exactly have an answer to that question. He silently walked over to his desk, resting his hands against the edge. "None of it matters…nothing," he whispered to himself, now oblivious to the other boy standing in the room with him. He slowly looked up, his gaze settling on the cork board mounted above the desk, drawings and mementos pinned to its surface. His single eye came to settle on one item in particular, a photo of himself when he was ten years old, standing with his basketball team. He had always regarded the photo with such fondness, but now he could only feel bitterness. "My life…my _memories…_Did any of it even happen?!"

Gumball startled as Rob suddenly moved to grab the cork board, tearing it from the wall with an aggravated grunt and slinging it through the air. It hit the floor with a loud clatter, push pins flying everywhere. "DUDE, WHAT-"

"It's _FAKE_!" Rob shouted again as he continued his emotional destruction against his possessions.. "It's all fake!" He swatted a cup of markers to the floor, and then a stack of comic books before kicking over his computer chair.

Gumball quickly stepped aside in alarm as Rob suddenly brushed past him. "Rob, what are you…?" His eyes widened when he noticed the teen grab the baseball bat that had been tucked away behind the door. "Rob, stop! Wait!" He flinched as the boy swung the bat indiscriminately, taking aim at any and all random objects within range. Items went flying off the desk and dresser, bouncing off walls and clattering to the floor, sometimes in pieces.

"None of it matters!" Rob shouted tearfully as he swung the bat again, taking aim at one of the shelves mounted on the wall and striking his second place trophy he had received at his school's science fair, once one of his most prized possessions. The trophy broke away from its base as it fell to the floor with a loud, metallic thud. "I thought I was going to _be _something! I thought my life had meaning! But it doesn't!" He raised the bat again as he struggled to see through his tears.

Risking a hit from the bat, Gumball bolted towards the distraught teen and threw his arms around his waist. "Rob, stop it! _Please!" _He held his breath as he clutched the boy tightly, hoping he wouldn't suddenly decide to turn the bat on him_. _"I can't say I understand…because I don't! I _don't _know how you feel, and I _don't _understand what this place is, or what it really means!" He could feel Rob becoming less and less tense as he spoke. "I'll never understand and I'm sorry for that! I'm sorry for what this place has done to you and I'm sorry for helping put you here in the first place! I-I…Look, man, I don't know how I feel about this whole…TV show thing, or whatever it is you're talking about, but…if what you say is true, and our world really is going to end, then…isn't it better to enjoy what little bit of time we have left?"

Gumball shut his eyes, waiting for whatever Rob had to say with bated breath. The next thing he heard was the sound of the bat hitting the floor and he chanced a glance up at the teen. Though he had calmed somewhat, he could still see him fighting back angry tears, while noticeably out of breath.

"You didn't put me here," he finally said, looking off somewhere else.

"Maybe not the first time…but this time it was definitely my fault. It was my idea to erase you."

Rob involuntarily cringed at the memory, but he didn't let the feeling overwhelm him. "I only have myself to blame," he murmured. "I had it coming."

"N-No…We shouldn't have-"

"Look, let's not dwell on it, all right?" Rob cut him off, an edge of irritation in his tone. "I don't like thinking about it."

Gumball gave a slow nod, loosening his embrace. "I know things are kind of crazy right now, but it's going to be okay."

"No, it's not," Rob spoke with a shuddering breath. "It's all going to end, and we can't stop it. I...I wish I had never known. Sometimes it's better that way."

The blue cat cocked his head slightly. "That's what you were trying to tell us, wasn't it? When we erased you? You were trying to stop all this from happening."

Rob angrily wiped at his eye. "I don't even know what I was trying to do. It was all pointless, anyway. I thought I could…I don't know. I wanted to know what was going to happen next, where the story ended…but what good would that do? If I couldn't stop it from happening, then…."

As the teen's voice trailed off, Gumball gently took a hold of his wrist, his gaze pleading. "Let's go…_please."_

Rob turned away from him, though he didn't withdraw his arm from the other's grip.

"It'll be worth it, I promise. We'll make every moment count," the cat continued as his eyes twinkled hopefully. "We'll hang out, have sleepovers, watch cheesy horror movies, play video games!" His heart fluttered when he thought he saw Rob fighting to hold back a smile.

"What you're describing…that's what _friends _do, Gumball," the elder boy pointed out, though his words harbored no contempt. His tone seemed to have a soft playfulness to it, which Gumball was quick to pick up on.

"Weeeellll, you _are _the best nemesis a guy could ask for. Really, no one can compare."

Rob rolled his eye, his smile on full display now.

"_But…_I think you'd make a better friend," Gumball finished earnestly, his smile reaching his ears.

Rob felt his resolve crumbling as he looked down at the boy to see him gazing up at him with the biggest, wettest eyes he had ever seen. He sighed in defeat, chuckling softly.

"All right…lead the way," he conceded. The doubt in his tone did not go unnoticed, but Gumball simply responded with a jubilant smile before turning to lead Rob out of the room. They had almost made it out when Rob stopped abruptly, withdrawing his hand from the cat's grip. "Wait…" he said as he rushed back inside the room and scurried over to the bed.

Gumball's momentary confusion quickly transitioned to a look of understanding as he noticed Rob lift his cherished photo from the bed where he had left it, briefly gazing at it one last time before quickly slipping it into the shallow pocket of his shorts. "Okay…I'm ready," he said with a nod as he fast walked back over to him. The two boys exited the bedroom and made their way down the stairs in silence, Gumball moving with a bit more eagerness. As they both exited the house, Gumball rushed ahead of the teen and flung himself off the front porch, fully expecting Rob to be right at his heels. However, he quickly noticed him hesitating to follow, still remaining on the porch as he gazed back into the little house through the screen door.

"Rob?"

Silence.

The cat took a few tentative steps towards the porch, brows furrowing with worry. "Rob, are you coming?"

"H-Huh?" Rob looked back at him sharply. "I…yeah, I…I just…" He glanced back inside the house one last time before finally making his way off the porch, his gaze cast downward as he joined the feline at the bottom of the steps. "Sorry." he murmured.

Gumball smiled sadly. "It's okay." He nodded for him to follow, darting ahead of him once again.

"So how exactly are we supposed to get out of this place?!" Rob called to him as they each hopped from platform to platform, being extremely careful of their footing as they bounced off objects with more rounded surfaces. "Or did you even think that far ahead?" he added, his tone harboring a mild bite.

Gumball landed on a narrow slab of concrete with a slight grunt, the force causing him to fall to one knee. "Darwin's waiting for us! I told him to stay behind so he could help pull us in!"

They pushed forward, each jump becoming harder than the last as they found themselves quickly running out of breath. As they took a moment to rest, Gumball had a quick look around, eyes narrowing as he scanned for the opening back to their world. "Where..? AH! There!" he shouted excitedly as he pointed upward, spotting the bright light that indicated their exit out. "We just need to get close enough for Darwin to toss us the rope!" The feline beamed up at the teen. "We're almost home free!"

Unfortunately, Rob just couldn't bring himself to share in the younger boy's enthusiasm. He wrung his hands nervously as he shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "I don't know about this," he confessed as he surveyed their surroundings fearfully.

"What'd you mean? Don't you wanna get out of here?" Gumball swiftly questioned him, his eyes widening slightly.

"O-Of course I do, it's just…I don't know about this. I just have a bad feeling, okay? It's _never _this easy."

"You're just being paranoid," Gumball dismissed him. "You got out once before, didn't you?" he pointed out, though he immediately winced with regret. Rob's swift anger to the comment didn't come as a shock, and he fired off a retort before he could so much as utter an apology.

"And look what happened!" he shouted as he indicated to his corrupted body.

Gumball held up both hands apologetically. "I know, I know, that was insensitive, I'm sorry." He sighed. "Look…I'm right here with you, okay? Whatever happens…we're in this together." He felt his chest swell with hope when he saw the other boy appear to ease at his words.

"Right…okay," Rob answered with a slow nod.

"All right, then come on! We can make it!" Gumball stated confidently as he grabbed the other boy by the wrist and pulled him along. They climbed the few remaining platforms that were within reach, trying to put themselves as close to the opening as possible. "DARWIN! DARWIN, I FOUND HIM! WE'RE COMING OUT!"

"I SEE YOU! HOLD ON!" he heard his brother call back to him.

They could vaguely make out Darwin's figure moving to throw something into the Void, which they could only assume was the rope. "HEADS UP!" they heard him shout as he took aim and flung the rope with all his might. The two periled boys immediately moved to dodge the incoming rope, as they saw that Darwin had thought to tie the end to a large rock in order to help add weight and make his aim more precise.

"NICE THROW, DARWIN!" Gumball called back to him as he rushed over to pick up the rock and untie the rope. He made his way over to the end of the concrete slab and waved for the teen to join him. "Come on, this is it."

Rob scurried over to him and took a firm hold of the rope with both hands, his heart fluttering with anticipation of what would happen next. He glanced up at the bright light that was their only way out and then slowly back down at the cat by his side. "Um…Gumball?"

The blue feline turned and glanced up at him curiously "Yeah?"

"I…I just…"

"ARE YOU GUYS READY?!" they heard Darwin call to them.

"REEL US IN, BRO!" Gumball called back to the fish as he tore his gaze away from the teen at his side.

Within moments, they felt their feet leave the concrete slab and they were gradually being pulled towards the exit, which was a bit of a struggle as the constant, shifting gravity seemed to be pulling against them. Gumball continuously shouted words of encouragement to his brother, while looking back at his companion to smile at him excitedly. "We're almost there!" he called to him, his upbeat attitude almost infectious. Rob thought he might just start cheering on the little fish as well, but the budding joy he had started to feel instantly wilted as he felt a strong force push against him, nearly causing him to loose his grip on the rope.

"What the what was that?!" he heard Gumball shout.

"I…I don't know."

They both looked up, noticing the walls of static that surrounded them were flickering and flashing in ways they had never seen before. They then heard a sound akin to distant thunder, and then they saw something produced from the static: a semi-transparent wave of electricity and multi-colors barreling towards them.

"HOLD ON!" Gumball shouted as he ducked his head down, his grip tightening on the rope. Rob did the same, gritting his teeth as he braced for the wave's impact, which struck with the same force as the last.

They both could hear Darwin panicking as he struggled to maintain his hold on the rope, while also resisting being pulled inside the Void himself. "WHAT'S GOING ON?!" he screamed.

"I told you!" Rob shouted to the cat as they braced for the next wave, which seemed to come in seven second intervals. "It's not going to let me leave! It doesn't want me to!"

"What'd you mean it doesn't _want _you to?! You're making it sound like this place is alive!"

The static pulsed again, and another wave was headed their way. Gumball's heart leapt into his throat as he heard his brother scream. "DARWIN, HANG ON!"

"I'M TRYING!" the little fish shouted back, fighting back tears as the rope tore into the flesh of his stubby hands.

Another wave struck them, and this time Rob was unable to maintain his grip on the rope. Gumball saw this, letting out a panicked yelp as he reached back with one hand to firmly grip Rob's forearm. "HOLD ON, I'VE GOT YOU!"

Rob instinctively gripped Gumball's arm, stealing a terrified glance at the abyss below. He slowly looked back up, horrified to see another wave coming in fast.

Darwin let out a pain-filled cry as he felt the force of the wave push against his brother and Rob, dragging him closer and closer to the edge of the drop off. He dug his heels in and gripped the edge of the opening with one hand while maintaining his hold on the rope with the other. Meanwhile, Gumball found himself slipping further and further down the length of the rope.

After a swift analysis of the situation, Rob closed his eye, shaking his head with a heavy sigh. "It's no good. We're all gonna be pulled in at this rate," he said solemnly, accepting the situation for what it was.

"We can still make it!" Gumball shouted back through gritted teeth, glancing between the boy in his grip and his struggling brother above. The look in his eyes betrayed his words.

"You tried, Gumball. That's all that matters."

The cat's eyes widened in horror as he felt Rob release his grip on his arm, forcing him to tighten his own grip to make up for the lost anchorage. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" He dug his fingers into the other's arm, his grip so strong it caused the static of his arm to flicker and ripple. "ROB, DON'T! _PLEASE!_ WE'RE SO CLOSE!" Little by little, he felt the other boy slipping further and further down. One look into his moist, solitary eye told him that he had already accepted his fate. "No, no, no! Don't do this!"

"It's okay, Gumball. This is the way it's meant to be. You can't change it."

"_NO!"_

Rob glanced down into the static abyss briefly before looking back up at the sniffling cat one last time. "Thanks for remembering me," he said softly.

"No…no, no," the cat whimpered tearfully as he watched Rob slip even further until he could only hold on to just two of his fingers. A split-second later, he slipped from his grasp, plummeting silently back into the world of flickering static. "ROOOB!" Gumball screamed as he futilely stretched his paw outward, reaching for the boy as he fell away. His stomach lurched as he noticed how eerily similar the scene was to Barbara's painting.

Still overcome with shock, the cat slowly lifted his head again, noticing that Darwin was gazing down at him with wide, tearful eyes.

"Gumball…you tried," he whimpered. "You did your best, man…Rob knew that." The fish let out a panicked shriek as he noticed the opening closing around him. "G-Gumball, you need to hurry! This place is wanting to close and I don't think I can hold it anymore!"

The cat gazed back down into the flickering pit, though he was no longer able to see the teen. "I…I can't."

The fish stilled, looking down at his adoptive sibling slowly. The look in his eyes was enough of an answer, but he still asked the question: "Wait…G-Gumball, what are you thinking?"

"I love you."

Darwin's heart sank. "N-No! Gumball, don't! DON'T YOU DARE!"

The cat loosened his grip on the rope, letting it slip through his paw as gravity took over and pulled him into the bottomless pit of static. Darwin's horrified face gradually faded from view as he heard him belt out one last anguished cry.

"GUMBALLLLLLL!"

* * *

**Author's Note:** I still don't know that I'll finish this story before the finale airs (or leaks), but I'm going to try and not worry about it. The story will continue the way I originally planned it, and I'm not going to let the finale influence it in any way. But if you enjoyed this story at all, please consider leaving a review...even if it's just to yell at me about leaving it on a cliffhanger lol. Reviews really help keep me inspired and encourage me to write more!

**6/9/19:** I now have fanart for this story posted over on my Pillowfort account (link in my bio)! I hope to do more, as long as my feeble art skills allow me!


	5. IV: Reunited

**Part IV: **Reunited

The air pushed against his back as he fell, his brother's face no longer in view, though the image of it would forever be seared in his mind for as long as he existed, as would the guilt he'd feel for what he had just done. He couldn't turn back the time, though. He had made his choice, and now he had to face it.

He rotated his body around to where he was facing the direction he was falling. He struggled to keep his eyes open against the force of the wind as he plummeted downward, platforms and objects rushing past him with a loud _whoosh, _some of which he barely avoided wasn't long before he spotted the cyclops below, his form still a fair distance out of reach. Once he had him in his sights,he pointed his body downward to gain speed. "ROB, HANG ON!" he shouted as he drew closer and closer to the boy, who was now gazing up at him with absolute horror.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" the teen shouted back to him as he watched him descend towards him.

Almost there.

"I ALREADY TOLD YOU!" the feline cried out to him as he finally closed the distance between them, slamming into Rob's slender frame and wrapping his arms around his torso. "I told you I wasn't leaving you behind!"

"YOU ABSOLUTE NUMBSKULL!" Rob reprimanded him as he tried to pry his arms away from him. "You don't realize what you've done! I can't leave! You should have just accepted that! I know you're the hero of this story, but sometimes you can't save everyone!"

Rob gave the cat a violent shove, finally forcing them to break apart, but Gumball was quick to shoot out a hand and grab Rob's wrist before he got out of reach.

"No!" he shouted defiantly, pulling himself towards the teen again. "I said I wasn't going to leave without you and I meant it! If that means I'm stuck here with you, then fine by me!" The cat reached out with his free hand to grab Rob's other wrist, their bodies now falling horizontally as they directly faced each other. Gumball kept his grip tight as the teen attempted to pull away again. "We're in this together, remember?!"

Rob let out a frustrated wail, which ended in a choked sob. "You can't save me, Gumball!" The tears came again, the winds carrying them away before they even had a chance to roll down his angular cheek. "I've accepted that, and it's time you did, too! I didn't _want _to accept it, but I'm not in control of my own story! None of us are!"

"Oh yeah?!" Gumball shouted, moving his face closer to the other boy's. "Well, we must have _some _kind of control, otherwise I don't think this place would have fought back to keep you from escaping! This wasn't meant to happen! This wasn't part of the script!"

"Because we're probably not on the air right now! I…I don't know! Look, I've already told you I've accepted this, Gumball! It sucks, but I've accepted it!"

"Yeah, well, I _haven't! _I guess I'm just selfish like that!_" _the feline retorted playfully. At this point, both boys seemed to be resigned to the fact that they were still falling. "It's better than being alone, isn't it?!"

Rob grit his teeth painfully, unable to bring himself to contradict the other boy. He was used to being alone by now, and he had been thoroughly convinced he was destined to remain so for as long as he existed, _wherever _he existed. Despite his insistence that he was okay with this, he knew deep down he truly wasn't. Gumball was a handful and required copious amounts of patience, but he'd be lying if he said he didn't find some enjoyment in his company. It was strange to admit that the same person who had once made him feel like he was nothing now made him feel like he was everything.

"I…"

Rob briefly glanced downward, his eye widening in horror before he shifted his lower half upward to kick the feline violently with both his feet. "WATCH OUT!" he shouted as he sent the smaller boy flying back with the force of his kick and barely missing the spinning propeller blade of a biplane as it cut between them. Rob managed to miss it by mere inches himself, but his legs caught the edge of the wireframe wing, causing him to backflip rapidly before eventually slamming hard against the bottom of a stone platform. He gasped, tasting blood in his mouth while white lights briefly flashed across his vision. Gravity took over once again, peeling him off the now cracked stone slab and pulling him down again. He hit the ground shoulder first, bouncing and rolling several feet before he finally came to a halt amongst a small cloud of dust, completely unmoving.

Gumball survived a rough landing of his own, the right knee of his jeans torn open and a nasty gash on the exposed kneecap, but other than that, he was still in one piece. He was back on his feet within seconds, staggering towards the edge of the platform that had caught him in search of the teen. "Rob?! Rob, where are you?!" Glancing downward, he noticed the crumpled heap that was Rob's body laying on a drifting platform just below him. He acted swiftly, getting a running start and lunging for the large slab of rock. His landing was far from graceful, but he rolled to his feet within seconds and sprinted towards the fallen teen, ignoring the sting of the scrape on his knee. "Rob?! Hey, are you okay?!"

Dropping to his knees, Gumball grabbed the boy by the shoulder and rolled him onto his back, finding him completely unresponsive. He felt a hard lump in his throat as he saw the blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. "R-Rob? Hey…" He shook him gently at first, but when he still received no response, he became much rougher. "ROB! _ROB!_" He shook him violently, while resisting the urge to slap him out of desperation. Everything around him suddenly became blurry as tears filled his panic-stricken eyes. "No, no, no," he whimpered as he gathered the other boy's head in his hands and rested it in his lap. "Please don't. Dude, c'mon…d-don't leave me here alone." His hand hovered above the teen's chest as he contemplated checking for a heartbeat, but he was too afraid to know the answer.

Gumball glanced upward to try and gauge how far they had fallen, but there was no way to know for sure. He didn't know how likely it would be to make it back up to where Darwin was, but even if they could, it was clear Rob wasn't permitted to leave. But if the boy was dead, then…

A light cough brought Gumball's attention back down to the teen in his lap, who he noticed had started to open his eye.

"Dude, you're alive!"

The feline didn't hesitate, showing his relief by grabbing the other boy in a hug as he came to.

Rob lifted his head from Gumball's lap and forced himself into a sitting position, grunting as he did so. "I can't…I still can't _believe _you. What were you thinking?" he groaned as he lifted a hand to rub his throbbing head. He had a brief glance at their surroundings before focusing his narrowed eye on the blue feline again.

"I was thinking that I wasn't going to leave without you," Gumball responded confidently, his face becoming stern. "I think I made that pretty clear, didn't I?

Rob pushed the cat away, shaking his head in disbelief. "You don't get it! You don't realize what you've done!" He looked at him sharply. "Don't you see? You've pretty much doomed everyone to an early demise! Without you, the show can't exist! The world _literally _revolves around you, Gumball, as much as it pains me to say!"

Ears flattening against his head, Gumball glanced down. "They were doomed either way, weren't they?" he tried to reason, though there was no hiding his guilt as it gradually bubbled to the surface.

"Yes, but…but now it's inevitable! How could you just throw it all away?! What about Darwin? Your family, and Penny?! Your _life, _Gumball?! Why would you turn your back on everything that's important?!" the cyclops shouted at him desperately, his outburst leaving him panting. He glanced at his fist as he felt it throbbing in pain, having not realized until that moment that he had been slamming it repeatedly against the ground.

The cat slowly looked up again, his eyes shimmering. "But…_you're _important," he declared softly.

Rob could feel his bottom lip quivering, and he tore his gaze away from the boy to glare at the ground. "No, I'm _not!_ Hasn't that been clear from the start? I. Don't. Matter."

"_Yes, _you _do_! I'm not going to keep arguing this with you!"

Rob threw his hands up in defeat. "Well, it doesn't matter, anyway!" he shouted in frustration as he scooted away from the younger boy, wrapping his arms around himself. "It's over, anyway! Done! Finito!" he declared hoarsely. He sighed in exasperation as his shoulders slumped. "We can't stop what happens next." He could hear Gumball shift behind him, and within seconds the cat was right next to him again, his shoulder pressing against his.

"It was going to end no matter what," Gumball repeated, though his tone was much more melancholic now. He thought of his family, Darwin especially. Would his brother tell them what had happened to him? How long would it be before his absence became an issue? He had made a split-second decision to follow Rob down into the Void, and now it would cost all of Elmore. How could he explain this to everyone?

Hearing the other boy inhale sharply, Gumball glanced at him questioningly.

"Maybe…Maybe this _is _the reason the world ends," Rob muttered softly, his eye widening as he considered the thought. "You being here…What if…?" He chanced a look at the feline, who was noticeably pale as he broke eye contact with him and looked to the ground.

"You…You think?" he questioned, his voice barely above a whisper.

"I mean…I don't know. It would make sense. Or…no…no, I'm probably wrong." Shrugging, Rob pulled his knees close to his chest as he loosely wrapped his arms around his legs. "Who knows?"

A few moments of silence followed before the younger boy started chuckling, grabbing the cyclops' attention.

"Heh…they're _really _going to hate me now," he said, feeling Rob's eye on him. "I mean…I've done some pretty crazy things, and I know I've ticked off pretty much every citizen of Elmore at least once," he laughed. "But oh man, this one really takes the cake, right?!"

The boy started laughably uncontrollably, barely aware of Rob's concerned gaze. The teen was hardly surprised when the raucous laughter gradually transitioned to loud sobs, which shook Rob of all the anger and frustration he held for the boy and prompted him to move in to grab him in a hug, just as he had done for him. There was no resistance on Gumball's part, as he pushed into his embrace eagerly. "It doesn't _have _to be this way. You could still make it back if-"

"_No," _Gumball cut him off firmly, clutching him a little tighter to further prove his point. "I know what you're going to say and I won't, so don't bother saying it. I never said I regretted my choice." He heard Rob heave a frustrated sigh, but he made no effort to argue with him further on the matter, much to his relief. What followed after that was a long, anguished silence, only broken by the occasional sniffles from the younger boy.

"I'm not really sure what we should do now," he heard Rob murmur, feeling him shrug. "I guess we could…"

Gumball frowned, hearing the boy inhale sharply while his body went completely rigid and still. Pulling out of his arms, he glanced up to see him looking off somewhere, looking as though he had just seen a ghost. Gumball slowly turned to follow his gaze, terrified of what he might find. His eyes honed in on a solitary figure confined to a large slab of asphalt currently drifting a short distance away. Despite the distance, he could still make out enough of her details in order to recognize her almost instantly. "No…no way," he whispered before gazing back to the boy at his side for confirmation.

Rob's lips trembled as a single word rolled off his tongue in a stunned whisper.

"Mom."

0oooooo0

"Gumball…Gumball…"

Darwin stared at the wall where the opening had once been, still processing what had just occurred only minutes prior. "No…no, no," he whimpered over and over again as he rocked back and forth. For the longest time, he was completely lost on what to do. Did he go home and tell his family? Did he throw himself into the strange dimension in the hopes of finding Gumball himself? Would that even do any good? Even if he could find him, would they even be able to find a way out?

At that moment, he was convinced that he just didn't care. As much as he loved and adored the rest of his family, Gumball was the one who he just couldn't see himself living without. If abandoning the rest of his family meant being able to stay by his adoptive brother's side, he was fully prepared to accept that reality, regardless of the guilt it would ultimately cause him.

Staggering to his feet, Darwin struggled to peel the wall open again, which seemed so much harder now against the weight of his grief. He lingered at the narrow opening and peered inside the static dimension with a hopeful gaze. As his eyes flicked in all directions, he could see no signs of his brother _or _Rob. He lifted one leg, letting his foot hover over the drop off as the urge to jump in became almost too hard to ignore. However, he thought better of it as a sudden idea occurred to him. He didn't know if the solution would truly be as easy as his racing mind made it out to be, but he'd be darned if he wasn't going to at least _try. _What other options did he have?

He wasted no time, turning on his heel and fleeing with a new sense of determination.

0oooooo0

Rob slowly rose to his feet, his eye never breaking away from the figure floating a short distance away. From what he could see, she was completely frozen, seemingly suspended in mid-stride as she had been making her way along the sidewalk. Once he had shaken himself from his initial stupor, Rob sprinted towards the edge of the platform to gauge how far of a jump it would be and whether or not he could make it. His emotions got the better of him and he ultimately decided he didn't care and that he was going to try and make the jump anyway. Gumball saw this and was able to intercept him before he could make the attempt.

"Rob, wait!" he shouted as he rushed over to grab him by the waist as he started to make a mad dash towards the edge of the platform.

"STOP! Let me go! I have to get over there!"

"You won't make that jump, it's too far! Look, follow me! I know how we can get there!" the cat insisted as he grabbed Rob by the wrist and started leading him in the opposite direction. Rob looked ahead to where the boy was leading him, his eyes following the path of several platforms and objects that were in close proximity to each other and that seemed to lead right to where his mother was located, though not before making a wide half circle from where they were to where she was. It was quite a detour, but if they were quick, he was confident they could make it.

"See that rock right there?" Gumball pointed a finger and Rob nodded. "That's where we're going. That's the closest one to her…but we'll still need to jump a good ways to get to her." The cat leapt onto an old rusty car as it floated close by. "Come on! We better hurry or we might miss the chance!"

Rob jumped after him, following the cat's lead as he jumped, climbed and jumped again from one object to another. The detour seemed to be putting more distance between them and his mother, but as he got a better view of where they had once been and where his mother was, it was clear to see that Gumball had been right and there was no way he would have made the jump to her.

Unable to take his eyes off her, he slowed to a stop, immediately grabbing Gumball's attention.

"Rob, what're you doing? C'mon!"

The teen shook his head in disbelief. "This whole time…she was here this _whole time…_and I didn't even know it."

Seeing that the other boy appeared to be losing a grip on himself again, Gumball rushed back over to him to try and ease the guilt that was obviously creeping back in. He had experienced enough of that as it was for one day. "Exactly, you didn't _know_!"

"But how could I _not _know?! Where else would she be?!"

"Rob, you were clueless about_ everything!_" Gumball argued as he raised his arms to gesture to their surroundings. "You didn't know what this place was or why you were sent here! You guys got separated, and you were scared and confused. For all you knew, she _wasn't _here and you were all alone in this place. And then to make matters worse, you lost your memory!"

Rob continued to gaze down at her as though she was some sort of mystical creature that had only existed in fairy tales. "After a while, I just convinced myself that…she was gone. Like…_gone _gone, or that…maybe she ran away when I disappeared...but I should have known better! They had to get rid of every shred of evidence that I ever existed, which included _her!_ She's been stuck like this this whole time, and I could have come back to save her if I hadn't been so caught up with chasing you all the time! If I hadn't been so selfish…"

Gumball sighed. "Dude, it's not like she was suffering. She's been frozen like that all this time, completely unaware of what's happening. She didn't suffer here the way you did, okay? Look, let's just hurry up and get down there while we can still reach her!" Grabbing the teen's wrist again, Gumball pulled him along, jumping down onto the platform closest to where the woman was located. They took advantage of the full length of the platform, running across it as fast as they could before making the leap. Rob cleared it by just a few feet, while Gumball slammed against the edge with a sharp cry. Rob was quick to scramble over to him and grab his arm to hoist him up before he slipped. "Thanks," the cat groaned as he rubbed his sore chest.

The two boys shared a moment of silence as they slowly glanced over at the suspended cyclops, who was mere feet away from them now, her details much easier to distinguish. Now that they were closer, they could see her form flickering slightly.

"It's like…someone hit the pause button on her," Gumball commented as he slowly rose to his feet, a hand still pressed to his chest. He glanced up at Rob as he noticed him rise as well, expecting the boy to go racing over to her like he had attempted to do just minutes earlier, but he was almost as frozen as she was, while looking completely ashen as he stared in awe. "Umm…aren't you gonna…?"

"Huh? O-oh, yeah," the taller boy mumbled as he began shuffling forward, holding his hands close to his chest as he wrung them nervously. He came to stand directly in front of her, his heart fluttering with anticipation as he tried not to let his emotions get the better of him again, but it was proving almost impossible. He hadn't seen her in so long, it was all he could do to keep from just throwing his arms around her. It was clear she had been completely oblivious to what had happened, as she was caught in mid-stride, her arm raised as she gazed down at her watch. This world had swallowed her without her ever knowing it, and it angered him. It was infuriating to think someone as kind and loving as his mother could just be…_discarded _as though they were waste product.

Rob slowly extended a hand towards her, but he pulled it back quickly, not quite sure how to undo the woman's current predicament. "I…how do I?" He glanced back at Gumball quizzically.

"Maybe just try touching her?"

Rob swallowed, reaching for her again, but he couldn't bring himself to make contact with her. His hand hovered there, fingers just inches away from brushing against her flickering arm. He eventually pulled his hand back and clutched it to his chest, his gaze falling to his feet.

"What are you waiting for?"

"What am I supposed to say to her, Gumball? How am I supposed to explain all _this?_" Rob gestured to their bleak surroundings before indicating to himself. "How am I supposed to explain _myself? _I've changed, Gumball…in more ways than one. I…I don't want to hurt her. It's like you said…she's not suffering like this," he finished with a wince, knowing his words would earn swift condemnation from the other boy.

Gumball immediately raised his hands. "Woah, woah, woah, hold _up! _You're not seriously thinking of leaving her like this, are you?"

The teen looked away as he refused to answer.

"She's your _mom! _You've been separated from her all this time and now you can finally reunite with her!"

"And tell her what? 'Oh hey, Mom, I just thought you should know that our world is fake and this is is all just some weird TV show and our whole world is going to disappear when it ends! Oh, and the reason I look like this is because I got stuck here once already because I wasn't important enough to keep around and my body was torn apart when I tried to escape, and I've basically been living on the streets ever since! Oh, and by the way, I'm a criminal, too!' I mean, come on! How is she supposed to take that?! At least like this, she never has to know! She doesn't…She doesn't have to…" Rob lifted a hand to hide his eye as he felt the dam threatening to break loose again. "I miss her so much, but I don't want her to know. I don't want her to experience even an _iota _of what I had to go through."

"You think she would have wanted that? You think she wouldn't want to be with you?"

"After everything I've done, I can't imagine why she would."

"Because she's your mom, and moms don't care how much you screw up! Sheesh, if they did, then my mom probably would have tossed me in a box and left me on someone's doorstep years ago." Seeing that Rob still didn't seem convinced, he continued to drive his point. "Look, I'm not saying she won't be angry. Heck, if she's anything like my mom, then she'll probably make you fear for your life."

"Not. Helping," the older boy snarled.

The cat grinned cheekily. "But it won't change how she feels about you," he affirmed. He felt a sense of relief when he noticed the other boy's features soften, as though reluctantly accepting his words. "C'mon, man…this reunion's long overdue."

Closing his eye, Rob took a deep breath before stepping up to his mother again, his hand slowly reaching towards her raised arm. He couldn't have been more terrified of the conversation that he knew would follow her initial reanimation, but any potential anger or resentment she might hold for him was more than worth being able to hear her voice again, or to feel her arms around him.

There was a light crackle of static as Rob's fingers curled around her raised arm, his touch breaking whatever force had constrained her movements. The boy couldn't help but startle as he saw his mother resume walking as though nothing had happened. However, it only took seconds for her to notice the change in her surroundings, and she stopped abruptly with a sharp gasp, craning her neck to gaze up at the strange world she had suddenly found herself in. "What…W-What's…? Where..?" she sputtered as she looked around frantically.

Gumball watched her for a moment before glancing back at Rob, seeing that his shock had rendered him completely motionless and had robbed him of his voice. The cat decided he'd have to be the one to initiate the conversation, hoping Rob could take the time to collect himself.

"Umm…hi," the feline greeted the woman nervously as he cautiously approached her. He held up his hands to her as she turned her head sharply towards him, her single eye harboring pure terror. "It's okay. I know this is probably pretty scary for you right now. Uh…my name's Gumball," he introduced himself with an uneasy smile.

"P-Pam," the woman returned the greeting, her gaze shifting upward again as objects floated overhead. "What…What crazy fever dream did I just stumble into?"

"If _that _ain't the question of the century," Gumball laughed as he nervously wrung his hands. He caught a glimpse of Rob out of the corner of his eye, the poor boy looking close to having an anxiety attack. "Uh…I know you're really confused right now, b-but…umm..."

"Mom?" Rob finally called to her, his voice a hoarse squeak.

Gumball froze, unable to tear his eyes away from the woman as he saw her stiffen at the sound of the boy's voice. She slowly rotated around to face him, her brow furrowing in understandable confusion as she gazed upon him. She looked past him, clearly having recognized the voice as her son's, but she didn't see him standing anywhere, and that voice couldn't have come from this strange, flickering boy standing before her. Her gaze slowly fell back to the young cyclops, which was now suspicious.

"I'm sorry…what did you call me?" she asked softly, her voice mildly shaky.

The question stung horribly, but he couldn't fault her for asking it. He was completely unrecognizable now.

"Mom…it's me."

Rob took a tentative step forward, his knees knocking against each other as his legs shook uncontrollably. "I know I don't look like myself but…I-I promise, it's me." He winced inwardly as he saw his mother take a step back as he stepped towards her.

"N-No…you're not…You can't…" She was trembling now as well, still casting swift glances to her strange surroundings. Rob had had plenty of time to become accustomed to this place and what it represented, but she had had all of three minutes to take it all in, and to have some stranger who looked nothing like her child step before her and claim to be so had to be nothing short of traumatizing.

"Dude, the picture," he heard Gumball whisper to him. "Show it to her."

Rob perked, his hand immediately flying to his left pocket. He held up the now crinkled photo with a hopeful smile, trying desperately to keep his hand from trembling. "I have this, if it helps," he said. His grip tightened on the photo as he noticed she still looked skeptical. "Remember? It was taken during the Fourth of July. You had bought a bunch of sparklers and burnt your thumb when you tried to light one," he said with a slight air of urgency in his tone, whereas it normally would have been teasing when he brought up that particular memory to her. His chest heaved as he took in deep breaths to keep himself from breaking down. He searched her eye, feeling a swell of relief as he noticed her doubt seem to lift. He lowered his arm, slipping the photo back into his pocket as he maintained eye contact with her.

Pam took agonizingly slow steps toward him, hand partially covering her mouth. "What…?" She reached for him, and his breath hitched in his throat. Her hands cupped his oddly-shaped face as she looked over his corrupted body in horror. "What _happened?"_

A few moments of silence followed her question, as Rob found himself relaxing against her touch, a comfort he had gone so long without. For just the briefest moment, it was like nothing had changed and everything was normal again with her here with him.

It wasn't, of course, and he had to remind himself of that reality.

Rob sighed as he lifted his hands to grasp the ones cupping his face, closing his eye as he pulled them away. He squeezed them tightly, not too keen on letting her go. "It's a lot to take in," he told her honestly. He caught Gumball's eye for a moment before looking back at her with a more serious gaze. "You might want to sit down."

0oooooo0

Darwin had ran the entire way back to Banana Joe's house, stumbling up the front steps and nearly falling on his face as he made it to the porch. His body stumbled into the door and he immediately started banging his fists against it. "JOE! JOE, OPEN THE DOOR!" He crouched down to peer through the narrow mail slot. "WE'VE GOT A SITUATION! HURRY AND OPEN THE DOOR!" Moments later, he saw Joe scampering towards the door and he straightened up, fulling prepared to rush inside as soon as the door opened.

"Hey, what's going-WOAH!"

Darwin rushed past him, stopping to rest his hands on his knees as he tried to catch his breath. "We've got…a situation," he gasped. "Gumball…Rob…they…I couldn't…This is bad…really bad."

The banana frowned, scratching the side of his head in confusion. "What's bad? What's going on? What about Gumball?"

"He's trapped! It's…I can't even begin to explain it, man, but he found Rob, and he…they didn't make it out and I…"

"Didn't make it out of where?"

The fish grabbed his head in frustration. "UGH! I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THIS! Where's your mom?!"

Banana Joe recoiled slightly. "I-In the garage," he answered meekly. "But what do you-"

Darwin didn't stick around for Joe to finish his question, as he was already bolting towards the garage. "Barbara?!" he shouted as he entered the garage-turned-art gallery, startling the banana in question, who had just been in the middle of storing away all her art supplies. She regarded the young intruder with a concerned and slightly frightened gaze. "Barbara, I need your help! I don't know what else to do!" Darwin pleaded as he rushed over to her.

"M-Me?" she squeaked.

Joe entered moments later. "Dude, what's going on?" he asked as he rushed over to join his startled mother's side.

"Look, it's too much to explain, okay? It'd just be easier if I showed you! You…You really have to see it for yourself. All I can say is Gumball is in trouble, and I need your mom's help! She can…" Darwin paled as his eyes momentarily drifted to the wall of paintings, unable to overlook the newest addition. "Wait…" Darwin rushed over to have a better look. "Where did this one come from? I don't remember seeing it when we were here earlier." The subjects in the painting were small, with minimal detail, but they were still recognizable. Or, two of them at least, who he recognized as Gumball and Rob. The third, he couldn't decipher.

"She just painted that one," Joe answered him as he watched the fish with a raised brow.

Darwin grabbed the painting off the wall as he turned to face mother and son again. "This…This hasn't happened yet. Or…maybe it's happening right now!" He looked sharply over to Barbara, who was now biting her lip nervously. "Barbara, you have to do something! I know you can help!"

Barbara reluctantly nodded, murmuring a soft, "Okay."

"So…what are we doing, exactly?" Joe asked with a shrug as he watched Darwin tuck his mother's painting under his arm.

"Grab as many paints and canvases as you can." He nodded to the painting secured under his arm. "Barbara can alter the paintings, so…I'm taking this one. I know it's important."

* * *

**Author's Note:** I'm currently debating whether or not to add a short epilogue to this story. I'm kind of 50/50 on it at the moment. However, if I ultimately decide against it, I can probably say with certainty that the next chapter WILL be the last, which means it's likely going to be pretty long. I'm not going to even try to estimate when the next chapter will be done, as I'm still writing it. All I know is it's going to take a while, probably several weeks, because I know I'm going to be agonizing over it. So please be patient.

**6/30/19:** Please disregard what I said about the next chapter definitely being the last, because there's a good chance that that's not the case. While, I'm certain there WILL be an epilogue, it's also looking like the next chapter will need to be split, as it could easily surpass 8,000 words. There's no way I can say how long it'll actually be but based on how long it already is and how far it still has to go, it's definitely going to be long.


	6. V: Confessions

**Part V: **Confessions

"And…that's the gist of it."

He cringed as he let his hands drop to his sides, watching with growing sympathy as his mother struggled to keep her composure. He hardly felt satisfied with that closing statement. There was still so much more to discuss with her, as he hadn't gone into any extensive detail as to how he came to know that their world wasn't real, but she needed a break, that much he could see. Not surprisingly, her face seemed to be frozen in a permanent state of shock and horror, and he felt inclined to sit himself next to her on the cracked sidewalk and hold her. He didn't get the chance, however, as it wasn't long until she abruptly stood up and began pacing back and forth, her hands laced together and pressing against her mouth as she digested every bit of information her son had laid out for her.

"I…I don't know what to say," she murmured. "This…How did you even…? When…?"

She couldn't even formulate a complete sentence. How was one supposed to respond to the revelation that their world wasn't real and that they were just part of some silly children's cartoon? It was probably only because of the fact that she found herself standing here in this strange, static dimension that she didn't dismiss what Rob had told her outright. He had never been one to lie to her about anything, anyway.

Rob became fidgety and averted his gaze as he noticed his mother suddenly focus her attention on him, and the look in her eye seemed to suggest that something else was troubling her.

"How long?" she finally asked after an incredibly long silence. There was obvious fear in her tone.

"How long…what?" her son asked as he reluctantly looked back at her.

Her brow furrowed as a hard frown set deep into her features, beads of sweat gradually appearing around her hairline. "How long has it been since this all first happened?" Her blue skin seemed to fade more and more to a sickly gray. As frightening as it was to learn that their world wasn't real, the thought of her son surviving on his own with no one to look after him was even scarier.

"Oh…well…" Rob glanced downward as he twiddled his thumbs anxiously, really not wanting to disclose that piece of information. He could vaguely make out Gumball sitting just a few feet away from him, his arms folded over his knees as he intently listened to the pair converse. His silence during the entire exchange between him and his mother had greatly surprised him, as he seemed to always have something to say about something. Even when his mother had turned to shoot the cat a disapproving glare when he had explained how the boy and his brother had overlooked him the first time he had been trapped in the Void, he simply looked away in silent shame, feeling no desire to defend himself.

"It's…It's been over a year, Mom," Rob finally told her softly, wincing inwardly, and then outwardly as well when he heard her gasp. He chanced a glance at her, pained by the sight of her covering her mouth and clutching at her chest as she turned her body away from him. He was quick to notice she was unsteady, and he jumped to his feet to rush to her side. "Mom, just sit down," he said gently as he took her by the shoulders and guided her back to the ground.

She moved her hand over to the left of her chest as she felt her heart palpating. "I've been stuck here…and you've been alone out there all this time?"

Rob's only answer to that was to squeeze her shoulder.

"How in the world did you get by?! Where were you staying?! How did you eat?!"

Typical mom questions, though he supposed they were perfectly reasonable ones.

"Mom…"

"No, I want to know, Rob! Tell me!"

The teen rested his hands on his knees as he let his gaze fall to his feet. He turned his head to where the back of it was facing her, but he could still feel her eye boring into the back of his skull, silently demanding an answer.

"I just…scraped together whatever money I could find, I don't know," he said with a shrug. "Sometimes I'd get lucky and just find money on the ground that someone had dropped, and sometimes…sometimes I'd resort to pick-pocketing." He winced with shame, hoping she wouldn't judge him too harshly for that. "As far as shelter…I just found places that looked dry and….okay, not _comfortable,_ but a step up from sleeping on the cold ground, let's just say that. I did a lot of squatting, mostly, but there _was _one time I slept in an old car…at the scrapyard." He winced just as soon as the words left his mouth. _Crud, why did I have to tell her that?_

Biting his lip, he slowly turned his head to look at her again. Her expression was about as horrified as he would have expected, but now he noticed Gumball was looking at him with an equally horrified expression.

"Dude, why didn't you just come to us? You could've crashed in the basement again! That's better than some rusty old car!" he finally chimed in before Rob's mother could properly express her own shock.

"Right, like I'm just going to skip merrily up to my nemesis' front door and ask for a place to sleep," the young cyclops quipped as he waved a dismissive hand.

"Nemesis? So you two aren't friends now?" Pam glanced between the two boys, who were now looking rather embarrassed and avoiding eye contact with each other. It was another painful reminder that Rob still had a lot to explain to his mother.

"It's…It's really stupid, okay? Our relationship's a bit complicated," he answered vaguely. "But…we've made peace with it, I suppose," he added, noting the brief smile that crossed the cat's face.

"Wait…" Pam held up both hands in a stopping gesture. "Rob, you said you _escaped…_and that's why you look like this. But if you escaped, then what are you doing here _now?"_

Both boys visibly paled as they glanced at each other, knowing what this conversation would devolve into. Pam was still clueless of her son's misdeeds, but there'd be no avoiding the subject now.

"I…I did something bad…which led me here." He waited to see if she'd say anything, but she just kept waiting for him to elaborate, so he decided it'd be easier to just rip the band-aid off in one quick pull. "I kidnapped someone," he stated bluntly, closing his eye as he braced for her response.

"_WHAT?!" _

He had expected her anger, but it still affected him profoundly, causing him to fumble over his words as he continued. "S-She…Banana Barbara…I d-don't know if y-you know her, b-but umm…" Rob paused to take a breath. "Look, don't a-ask me how, but she c-can predict the future, okay? Or…she paints it. Everything she paints…it happens." He was hardly surprised when she just gawked at him as though he had spoken to her in a foreign language.

"Yeah, I can vouch for that," Gumball cut in as he noted her skepticism. "It sounds nuts, but it's true. I've seen it for myself."

This piece of information almost didn't register with her, as she was still reeling over her son's admission. She held her tongue long enough to let him elaborate, but there was no hiding the anger burning in her eye.

"I wanted her to paint the future," Rob reluctantly continued. "I wanted to know what was going to happen next…how the story ended. But then…" Rob threw a nervous glance at Gumball. "Umm…"

"But then we showed up," Gumball finished for him, getting to his feet. "Me, my brother Darwin, and Banana Joe."

"But _how _did you end up _here?" _Pam asked again as she turned back to Rob. Her expression seemed to soften somewhat as she noticed her son's breathing becoming more labored. "Rob…just tell me," she pleaded gently as her hand found its way to his back in a show of comfort.

There was no ignoring the horrible stab of guilt that Gumball felt, knowing his actions had quite obviously traumatized the boy. "It was my fault," he finally said, as he could no longer watch the teen continue to struggle with the memory. "We…I mean…I…" Pam's eye was on him now, while Rob just stared at the ground. "Rob had attacked us when we showed up, and well…we forced Barbara to…to um…erase him." He waited for her rage, but she just looked confused. "See…she could alter the paintings, add things, erase things, that sort of thing. If she erased something, or…some_one _in the painting, it would erase them in the present. So…that's what we did with Rob. We made her erase him from her painting, which…yeah."

There were a few moments of awkward silence, which only made the situation more tense. As the female cyclops slowly rose to her feet with a threatening posture, Gumball couldn't help but think that if he died by her hands, then he at least wouldn't have to face the wrath of all of Elmore when they inevitably ended up here. He could always look on the bright side of things.

"You did _what?" _she snarled through clenched teeth, startling her son. "You mean to tell me you sent him back to this place?!"

"I know, I know, it was a horrible thing to do! I…We weren't thinking! I didn't know that…" Gumball held up his paws defensively as he instinctively backed away once he noticed the woman start to make a move towards him. "Man, I am _not _making a good first impression today, am I?" he sputtered through nervous laughter.

"Mom, _stop!" _Rob interjected as he jumped to his feet and grabbed his mother's arm before she could advance on the cat any further. "Did you hear what he just said? Did you hear _anything _I've said? I kidnapped someone! I _attacked _them! Yeah, getting erased wasn't exactly pleasant, but I brought it on myself! I did something horrible! _I'm _horrible! I'm…I'm the worst person to ever exist! You have no idea how many horrible things I've done!" He paused to take a breath, shaking his head. "But…I'm going to tell you. You need to know. You need to know everything."

"Wait…Rob-"

Rob held up a hand before the cat could finish. "No, Gumball. You _know _I have to tell her."

"Tell me what?" his mother asked him fearfully, not entirely sure she wanted to know the answer. Her eye darted back and forth between the two boys.

"What I've become…what kind of person I am now!"

Gumball rushed to stand in front of the boy before he could continue, turning to Pam with a pleading gaze. "I just want to state for the record that all this was partially my fault!" he stated urgently. "I was the one who put the idea in his head to become a villain!"

"What…What in the world are you talking about?! _Villain?_"

Rob shoved the cat out of the way with an annoyed grunt. "Knock it off, Gumball. You're not going to be so quick to defend me when you know the truth!"

"What're you even talking about? You think I already forgot about you trying to blow us up with that bomb?"

If Pam's eye had been any bigger, it would have easily taken up the entire circumference of her head. "_BOMB?!" _she screeched as she jerked her head back towards her son._ "_WHAT BOMB?!"

The cat sighed as he swung a paw up to smack himself in the face. "Dagnabbit." He looked to the other boy apologetically, but Rob didn't seem that bothered.

"I was going to tell her, anyway," he reassured him before meeting his mother's gaze again, his shoulders falling when he saw just how distraught she looked, but he knew he couldn't back out now. "I blamed Gumball and Darwin for what happened to me, and when I couldn't remember who I was…I didn't know what my purpose was, or what I was meant to do…but when I recalled what happened here, when I left this void…I thought I could play that role. If I truly had to have a purpose in order to exist in the real world, then I was prepared to fill that role as the villain, fueled by genuine anger towards _him_," he finished as he indicated to the boy standing next to him, who was now looking down and fiddling with the hem of his sweater.

"But a bomb, Rob? A _BOMB?!" _The woman shook her head defiantly. "I'm not hearing this! There's no way I'm hearing this right now!_" _

"No one got hurt, though!" Gumball interjected quickly, much to Rob's annoyance. "It really wasn't that big a deal! I-I mean, we're just a cartoon, r-right? You know how things are in cartoons! Stuff like that isn't nearly as serious, and we were never meant to get hurt, so it's all fine!"

"Gumball, stop trying to defend me!"

"But I just-"

"No! I want you to listen closely to what I'm about to say next…because once you hear this, you're gonna wish you had never come here looking for me, okay?! You're gonna wish you had just left me here to rot! You wanted to know how I know all this is just a TV show…well, here it is." He turned back to his still horrified mother as he irritably ran a hand across his eye to rid himself of the gathering tears. "I'm sorry I wasn't better. You _deserve _better than me."

Before Pam could even open her mouth to protest his statement, Rob was already confessing his shame, explaining how he had happened upon the universal remote and how he had used it to nearly wipe Gumball from existence, though certainly not skimping on the details of what had happened to his family prior to that. He struggled the most to relay what had happened to Darwin, unable to shake the image of Gumball's rage and grief from his mind as he watched his brother perish. Even now, he still couldn't believe he had allowed himself to go so far.

Once he had finished, he struggled to muster the will to look up, afraid of seeing his mother's face and the shame that would undoubtedly reside there. When he finally did look at her, however, he saw that she had completely turned her back to him, which hurt just as much, if not more so. He chanced a look at Gumball, who he saw had taken a seat on the sidewalk and was looking off somewhere else as he seemed to be processing everything he had just heard. There had been plenty of times throughout his confession when the boy looked angry, but now he just seemed to be at a loss for words.

"I told you, Gumball," Rob said softly. The cat slowly looked at him, eyes wet and ears pressed flat against his head. "I know I can't expect you to forgive me for this. I'm…I'm sorry." He was sincere in his words, but whether that meant anything to the feline, he didn't know.

It took a few moments before the younger boy could finally bring himself to respond. Rob would have welcomed his anger, but his words were soft and completely devoid of contempt. "It didn't really happen, though. I mean…you undid the damage. You didn't have to, but you did."

Rob sighed as he rubbed the space above his eye. Why was this boy so insistent on making excuses for him?

"I remember it, so it might as well have happened. I still tried to get rid of you and your family! Did you not listen to me at all?"

"But you didn't go through with it. You knew it was wrong and you stopped it from happening." Gumball crossed his arms as he looked at the ground, kicking a pebble. "I mean…I'm not happy to know you tried to do something like that. It _hurts, _Rob… but we weren't exactly friends, and you _did _warn me that you were going to destroy me and everything I loved so…" The boy shrugged. "Par for the course, I guess." He forced a weak smile, his lip quivering.

"You can't be serious," the teen contested him. "I nearly wiped you from existence! Your…Your family, Gumball!"

The cat held up his hand as he looked Rob firmly in the eye. "Rob…just stop, okay? I'm glad you told me, and I _do_ forgive you. Maybe if we were in a different situation right now, I'd feel more inclined to be mad, but I just can't bring myself to be angry over something that didn't technically happen. It's too much energy, and you know how lazy I am." He finished his statement with the smallest of smiles, hoping he had managed to ease the boy's conscience, but his smile faded when he saw Rob suddenly look towards his mother expectedly. Maybe _he_ had forgiven him, but his mother had yet to say a single word following his confession. He waited for the backlash, but her silence persisted.

"Mom?" he called softly to her.

More silence.

Rob watched, pained and guilt-ridden as his mother slowly walked away from him, stopping when she got to the edge of the platform. She drew her arms up to hug herself as she stared out across the static dimension, leaving Rob to stare at her back in anticipation for her reaction. Eventually, her silence became unbearable.

"Mom…say something," he goaded her softly, his heart wincing when she still did not say a word. He only managed to take a few steps towards her before dropping to his knees, head bowed. "Say _anything…_please. Tell me how ashamed you are of me! Tell me how disappointed you are! T-Tell me…that what I did was unforgivable…that I'm wretched and…and that you wish…." He swallowed the lump in his throat as he struggled to squeak out his final words, "…that I wasn't your son."

His words struck her like a bolt of lightening, and she finally turned to look at him, mouth agape in disbelief.

Rob kept his head bowed as he sat hunched over on the ground, shoulders quivering as he fought back the sobs that threatened to rack his body. He cringed fearfully and ducked his head even lower as he heard the sound of flat heels clacking loudly against the ground, drawing closer and closer to him with urgent strides. Within seconds, he could feel his mother towering over him, and he stiffened with anticipation as she dropped to her knees in front of him. Though she had never once raised her hand to him as a child, he felt he had done more than enough to warrant it this time. However, instead of feeling the harsh sting of a slap to the face, he felt his mother's hands against his shoulders, pushing him back slightly.

"Look at me." She gave him a light shake when he didn't obey. "I said _look _at me."

Finally opening his eye, Rob slowly lifted his head, meeting her gaze as best he could through his tears while gritting his teeth in expectance of a verbal lashing.

"Do you really think that little of me?" she asked sternly.

The question genuinely shocked him. "Wha…? No, I-"

"Do you honestly think…?" Closing her eye, Pam paused to take a breath, her composure slipping. She blinked away her tears as she tightened her grip on Rob's shoulders. "_Yes, _I'm angry. _Yes, _I'm disappointed…because I know you're better than that! _You _know you're better than that!" Her eye softened as she reached up to brush away his tears with her thumb. "You wouldn't be feeling all this shame if you didn't. You were always such a gentle soul. You always tried to make everyone happy and help those who needed it."

"I know…I'm sorry," Rob cried as he attempted to look down again, but his mother was quick to slip her hand under his chin to force him to look back up at her.

"Nothing…and I mean _nothing _would ever make me wish you weren't my son. You're my whole world, and I couldn't bear to lose you. You're all I have."

Despite her reassurance, his shame didn't waver. "I…I felt like I had no choice. I mean…I guess in a way, I _didn't, _but…I know I didn't want to come back to this place. I never wanted to spend another second trapped here…even if that meant being the resident villain. If that's what it took, then…" The boy shook his head, squeezing his eye shut as anger overcame him again. At that moment, he felt grateful to have his mother's hands clutching him tightly. "I couldn't see past it. I was selfish and short-sighted but I just…I couldn't go through it again! I didn't want to-" He was silenced as he felt the gentle pressure of his mother's fingers against his lips. His eye locked with hers, which he saw was glistening.

"I know not all this is your fault," she said gently. "You never should have had to go through any of this." Sighing, she shook her head as her expression darkened with contempt. "Whatever forces are at work here…I'll never forgive them for what they've done to you."

Rob held her gaze for several moments before letting it fall to his lap again. "No…I…This is all on me….This is what I deserve."

Pam squeezed his shoulders again. "Rob…"

"No!" he cut her off sharply. "I can't foist blame on someone else! Being stuck here is the _least _I deserve!"

"Dude, you got a bum deal in all this," Gumball reasoned gently as he stepped over to stand beside the other boy, who partially turned his head to glance at him out of the corner of his eye. "This whole situation is just all kinds of messed up, and it's not like you just randomly woke up one day and said 'Gee, I think being an evil villain might be worth a few kicks!'. This isn't what you wanted. You _never _wanted this to happen. I mean…how exactly do you fight back when your story's dictated by the whims of a TV show writer?" Gumball paused, his ears flattening against his head as he looked off in another direction with a thousand yard stare. "Man…I'm still trying to grapple with that."

Rob considered his point, but it was hardly enough to quell his guilt. "I don't know how to make it right," he said softly, feeling his mother's hand against his cheek again, turning his head towards her.

"Admitting your mistakes is the first big step you can take. Now…you have to make it right to those you've wronged."

As he absorbed his mother's words, Rob slowly turned to Gumball, who smiled at him softly as he raised a hand to stop him from speaking. "Hey…I already said I forgive you for the whole trying to erase me from existence thing. And all that other stuff…honestly, it was kinda cool. I mean, fighting on the wing of a plane? Totally awesome!" He noticed Pam gaping at him and he quickly waved a hand, adding, "Don't ask."

The cyclops shook his head as he looked to his lap again. "I still can't fathom how you can just brush it off."

"Like I said…too lazy to hold a grudge."

Rob slowly looked up to meet his mother's gaze again. "I'm sorry," he repeated to her with every ounce of sincerity he had. "I'm sorry…I'm sorry."

"I know you are," Pam said to him, her hand on his face again. "If there's one thing I taught you…it was to always admit your mistakes. In time…you'll learn to forgive yourself."

The boy slowly shook his head, making his mother frown sadly. "No…never."

Pam said nothing, sighing as she brought the boy back into her arms. It pained her how desperately he clung to her, a harsh reminder that he had in fact gone so long without her care and guidance, whereas to her it still felt like she had only seen him just a couple of hours ago. She felt her eye sting with tears again as she leaned her cheek against the top of his head, feeling what she could only imagine was a shred of the helplessness he must have felt for so many months. "I'm sorry I wasn't there," she finally croaked.

Rob shook his head lightly. "No…you don't have to apologize for anything. It wasn't your fault," he assured her. He felt her shudder and he quickly moved to wrap his arms around her back. "Don't cry."

Gumball had kept his distance for as long as he thought was appropriate, but now the boy was fidgeting as he stood off to the side, ashamed of the fact that he felt left out. He knew it was their moment, and he shouldn't intrude, but he held back as long as he could before finally slinking his way over to them and dropping down to his knees to grab Rob around the waist. Feeling the teen's eye on him, he gave a tearful chuckle.

"Sorry…I kinda wanted to be a part of the family togetherness."

"Well…you _do _always have to insert yourself into everything," Rob teased softly.

"I'm the main character, it's kinda outta my hands."

Rob smiled as he rolled his eye, pulling away from his mother to grab the boy in a side hug, which only encouraged Gumball to wiggle more into his embrace. He caught his mother's eye momentarily, noticing the tiniest flicker of disapproval as she stared down at the cat, still clearly less than pleased with him. "Don't hate him, Mom," he said to her, bringing her attention back to him. "Trust me…it's not worth the effort," he added with a laugh. "He came all this way for me…even if it meant never being able to go back." He looked down at the boy as he thought back to the incident with the remote, adding, "Twice, in fact."

There were a few moments of tense silence before Pam finally sighed, her face softening . She noticed the feline seemed to be holding his breath as he gazed up at her fearfully, which prompted her to reach over to pet the top of his head. "Fine. If Rob can put it behind him, then I suppose I can, too." Her eye suddenly narrowed in a show of warning. "But if you _ever_-"

"I won't, I swear!" Gumball interjected swiftly, shaking his head. "Nope, no more erasing Rob from existence! That's a promise!"

Pam nodded slowly. "Good. Otherwise, you're gonna have me to worry about." Her tone was firm, but her smile lessened the intensity of her warning.

Gumball relaxed slightly, though his laughter still harbored noticeable nervousness. "Y-Yeah, my mom's already enough to deal with, thanks," he chuckled.

Rob let out a slow, quiet breath, relieved that the last traces of animosity that hung in the air had finally dissipated. Now he was left to ponder where they went from here, and it was clear from the looks on the others' faces that they were wondering the same. It didn't seem quite as demoralizing now that he wasn't alone, though he felt incredibly guilty for being grateful of their presence.

A few moments of silence passed, and Pam slowly lifted her gaze upward, craning her neck as she did so.

"So…this is our life now," she said to the static world above.

Another long silence followed her statement, Rob and Gumball silently glancing at each other before looking back at the woman remorsefully.

"It'll be okay, Mom."

Pam slowly let her head fall back to its natural position. The corner of her mouth twitched as she struggled to muster a faint smile. "Thirteen years I spent reassuring you…telling you your nightmares couldn't hurt you, always promising that everything would be all right and that I'd always be there…and now this. Now here you are telling _me _that everything's going to be okay after having our world completely turned upside down. But it's not okay…is it?" Her eye became wet again as she regarded the boy with heavy regret. "You were…I couldn't…" Her hands came to her face, fingers gliding through her dark brown hair.

Gumball startled slightly as he felt Rob suddenly shift, quickly moving to place himself directly beside his mother. "Mom, _don't," _he pleaded as he reached for one of her hands. "It wasn't your fault."

"I'm your mother, Rob…and when you're a mom, it hardly matters whether something's your fault. I'm supposed to protect you, I'm supposed to _be _there when you need help…and I wasn't. I wasn't there…and I…I'm never going to be able to make peace with that."

Biting his lip, Rob could only manage to squeeze his mother's hand as he leaned over to rest his head on her shoulder.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Okay, so...once again, things didn't turn out as planned, and I ended up splitting this chapter as well. This would have been the last chapter right before the epilogue, but I really didn't want to have to deal with a super long chapter, and honestly, it felt like like this section needed to be its own chapter. I apologize that this update has taken so long and I'd like to say that the next one will be soon but...the next chapter still isn't done and it's giving me a headache, so I must ask again that everyone hang tight.

Honestly, I feel like i should say something about the finale here, but...there's not too many positive things I can say and I really don't want to spill my salt all over the place. I want to say I'm still processing it but I know that's not the case. I've already processed it, and now I'm just angry and depressed. I thought The Future wrecked me emotionally, but no...that was a just a warm up. And it sucks because I feel like I'm the only person who legit wants nothing to do with the last episode and would rather pretend it doesn't exist.


End file.
